Echoing
by Jayfire
Summary: Our story starts off as Jayfeather dreams about three StarClan cats and a frightening new prophecy. He is then warned that his new found power will not stop the prophecy. To do that, he will have to turn to some unexpected cats for help: SkyClan. The question is, will they make it in time to save the clans? Rated K for cat fight violence later on.
1. Jayfeather's Dream

**Author's Not: yay! I finally put up my first fanfic!:D Tell me what you guys think and if I should make this multi chaptered or not.**

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Firestar's tenth Life

Jayfeather settled into his nest after a very long day. First Lionblaze had woken him up before dawn wanting to go down to the lake to talk about the Dark Forest.

Then when he had gotten back, he found that the dawn patrol had talked with a ShadowClan patrol and found out that Ivypaw was being held prisoner and they wouldn't give her back until Jayfeather gave them some catmint to cure Littlecloud's greencough. So Jayfeather had to run all the way to the ShadowClan camp and give them the catmint and bring Ivypaw home.

When he was back at camp, he walked to the fresh-kill pile to choose something for himself, but just then Leafpool and Squirrelflight came up to him.

"We need to talk to you and Lionblaze." meowed Leafpool.

"Well, you'll have to talk without me." Jayfeather hissed back.

"Don't use that tone with your mother!" snarled Squirrelflight

"What mother? I don't _have_ a mother." meowed Jayfeather as he whisked away to his den. A few moments later, after he had finished his mouse, Firestar came over to him and sat down beside the blind medicine cat.

"Jayfeather, why are you so against forgiving Leafpool and Squirrelflight?" asked the Clan leader.

"Why should I forgive them after what they put me and Lionblaze through? They could have told us when we were kits, then maybe Hollyleaf would still be alive." Jayfeather meowed in reply.

"Because, unless we unite, we stand no chance against the Dark Forest." Firestar paused as Jayfeather yawned. "Get some rest. I know you and Lionblaze have been on your paws since before dawn." Meowed Firestar as he walked out of the den

Jayfeather opened his eyes to find that he was in a bright starlit clearing. He saw three cats padding out from one of the bushes and come towards him. Two of them he recognized; Yellowfang, a dark grey she-cat with a broad flattened muzzle and long matted fur. The other was Spottedleaf, a pretty tortoiseshell and white she-cat. The third, a light grey tom with long feathery whiskers, he didn't recognize.

"Greetings Jayfeather. I am Featherwhisker, ThunderClan's medicine cat before Spottedleaf."meowed the tom.

"What now? Can't a cat get a decent sleep for once?"groaned Jayfeather.

"Watch your tongue, medicine cat! We could just as easily leave without telling you anything!"meowed Yellowfang.

"But we have to-"Spottedleaf was interrupted by Yellowfang's rusty laughter.

"We don't to do anything! If he is going to be rude, I'm leaving and your plan would never work." meowed Yellowfang sternly.

"Well, then lets tell him before morning comes and he wakes up!" snapped Featherwhisker.

At that moment, Spottedleaf's mouth opened, and with the distinct ring of prophecy in her voice, meowed: "_Four shall be left alone to face twelve. At the claws of Tiger, a leader shall perish and Darkness shall rule forevermore._"

For a few moments, all Jayfeather could do was stare in horror at the three former medicine cats.

"You know who the four are, don't you?" Featherwhisker asked him.

"Yes I do. Firestar, Dovepaw, Lionblaze and I are the four." answered Jayfeather. "But what does _'Four shall be left alone'_ mean? Does it mean that all the others will die?"

"No it does not mean they will all be dead. It just means that you four will be the only ones fit enough to fight." Spottedleaf replied.

"But no matter how hard we fight we will fail?"

"Jayfeather, there is but one way to answer this. Step forward." Once Jayfeather did this, Featherwhisker put his muzzle on the smaller tom's head. "With this touch, I give you the knowledge to heal with any and every herb." As Featherwhisker finished, Jayfeather felt a shooting pain in his head as, suddenly, he knew the name of all the herbs and how to use them.

Next came Spottedleaf. "With this touch, I give you endless compassion to care for any and every cat who comes to you." As she finished, Jayfeather felt guilty that he hadn't yet forgiven his mother and her sister.

Last of all, Yellowfang approached. "With this touch I give you faith, so that you may see the way through the toughest of situations." At the old cat's words, Jayfeather felt strong determination flow through him.

He looked up to see that the three cats had formed a circle around him. A voice that seemed to come from all three but none at the same time meowed: "With this breath we give you life, so you may give any cat a second chance." As their breath hit him, Jayfeather felt as if every single StarClan warrior had stepped into him and given him their lives.

"But how do I use this gift?" He asked the three medicine cats.

"Bring Firestar to the moonpool and enter his dreams. Give him a life for perseverance, so that he may be determined to bring the Clan through any challenge." They meowed together as the wind picked up and the StarClan warriors vanished.

Jayfeather awoke in his nest and groaned. He was just as tired as the night before and tonight he would have to go to the moonpool with Firestar and have another night full of dreams.

He padded out of his den and scented the air. The two she-cats he was looking for were eating near the fresh-kill pile. He went over to join them.

"What? Come to ruin our morning have you?" meowed Squirrelflight.

"No. I want you to know that I forgive you." Jayfeather answered and padded up to Firestar's den. He paused at the entrance to mew a greeting.

"Good morning Jayfeather." His Clan leader meowed

"Good morning Firestar. StarClan came to me last night and said that they need you to go to the moonpool to speak with them."

"Of course. We will go tonight."

That evening, Jayfeather and Firesatar left camp to spend the night at the moonpool. They reached the pool just after moonrise. Jayfeather waited while he heard Firestar lie down and lap up some of the cool water. Once his leader's breathing had slowed, Jayfeather lay down beside him, took some water and entered his dream.

He opened his eyes to find that he was in a hollow with four great towering oak trees and a huge rock in the center. He looked around until he found Firestar standing on top of the rock.

"Fourtrees." he heard him meow.

"Firestar!" Jayfeather howled at his leader.

"Jayfeather? What are you doing here? This is my dream."

"I will tell you if you come and stand in front of me." He waited while his leader jumped down from the rock and padded over to him, confusion clear in his eyes. "Firestar I know this is your last life. StarClan has asked me to give you a tenth life." He paused, not sure that he wanted to go on. Jayfeather stretched until he touch his nose to Firestar's. "With this life I give you perseverance, so that you may be determined enough to lead the Clan through every challenge." He could feel the pain that went through his leader's body as if it were his own.

As Firestar's gasps of pain and shock faded, Jayfeather found himself back in the hollow where the moonpool lay, and he was blind once more.

Beside him, Firestar was stirring, and Jayfeather wondered if Firestar would be angry.

When Firestar awoke, Jayfeather felt eyes on him and sensed his leader's awe.

"Jayfeather, last night," he paused for a heartbeat. "d-did you really give me a tenth life?"

"Yes." the medicine cat answered simply.

"Wow... I-I didn't know that was possible."

_Neither did I..._ Jayfeather thought to himself as he and Firestar left the moonpool to head back to the Clan.

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**Author's Note: **

**My first fanfic!:) I hope you all enjoy it and send me some reviews..who knows, I might decide to make this a multy chapter fic instead of a oneshot. Please let me know if you see any gramar and/or spelling mistakes. Thanks for reading!**

**Jay~**


	2. Unexpected Help

**A/N: Second Chapter! In this chapter, Jayfeather must travel in his dreams to get some unexpected help from unexpected cats. Like last chapter, if you find any gramatical and/or spelling errors let me know!:)**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I am not one of the Erin Hunters and therefore do not own the Warriors series or any of the Clans or Characters. :(**

**Edit: Just fixing some errors.. :3 Please ignore, nothing has really been changed :3**

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On the way back to the clan, Jayfeather thought about how he had actually given his clan leader a tenth life. He couldn't believe it! He'd thought it was all just a regular dream, a meaningless dream.

"So, uh, have you always had the power to give extra lives?" asked Firestar.

"No" answered the medicine cat simply.

"Oh. Umm... So when did you get it? Was it from StarClan?"

"I got it two nights ago. Yes. "

The rest of the walk back was quiet, neither cat uttering a sound. As they walked through the thorn tunnel that allowed them to enter the camp, Firestar turned to Jayfeather.

"Do you think I should tell the Clan about my extra life?" He asked?

"Tell them StarClan gave you another life. Don't let them know it was me. "

Jayfeather walked into his den and lay down in his nest, intent on catching up on his sleep. But as soon as he closed his eyes, he found himself in StarClan's hunting grounds once more.

"Are you trying to be funny?" he huffed. He wasn't expecting an answer, so when he heard Brightspirit's voice behind him, he jumped.

"No Jayfeather I'm not. I simply have some important information for you. SkyClan's home has been destroyed. You must find Echosong and enter her dream. You must tell her how to bring her clan here. It is vital for all the clans' survival."

"How does SkyClan's survival affect us, here by the lake?"

"It affects you because you need them if you are to beat the Dark Forest."

"But Spottedleaf told me that once Firestar had his tenth life we wouldn't have to worry about losing, we were guaranteed to win."

"She didn't want to worry you. Now hurry! Echosong can't sleep forever!"

"But how do I find her? And even if I do, how do I give her the directions to get to the lake?"

"She is by the moon lit pool in the center of our hunting grounds. You've watched Firestar's journey to the gorge enough times through his dreams to tell her where She needs to go. Now, off with you." As Brightspirit said this, she disappeared, leaving Jayfeather to find his way to Echosong alone.

He walked through StarClan's hunting grounds for what felt like forever before he found the moon lit pool in the center of StarClan. Next to it, he saw a pretty silver-grey tabby she-cat with tiny, delicate, dark grey paws, glowing green eyes, a white chest, a fluffy, bushy tail and soft, silky fur.

"Are you Echosong? SkyClan's medicine cat?" Jayfeather asked the she-cat.

"Y-yes. Who are you?" Echosong answered.

"I am Jayfeather. ThunderClan's medicine cat. StarClan asked me to tell you how to lead your Clan to safety. But, be warned. The journey ahead will be far from easy. And once you reach the lake where the rest of the clans live, you will not have much time to recover before you will have to fight the cats of the Dark Forest." Jayfeather meowed. Feeling Echosong's fear as if it were his own, Jayfeather couldn't help but feel sympathetic. "Trust me. This is the only way to save all the Clans. I know that the twolegs are destroying your home. You must leave. And, if you don't come here, you will have to face the entire Dark Forest on your own. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes. I do. But how am I supposed to know how to find the lake?" asked the pretty she-cat.

"It's not that hard. You must first follow the river down until you find the remains if a forest; trees cut to stumps, shattered stones. Look for a farm, their lives a black cat named Ravenpaw and a black and white cat named Barley. From there, follow the setting sun until you find mountains." Jayfeather paused and looked to Echosong to make sure she understood what he was saying. When she nodded, he continued. "In the mountains lives a Tribe of cats. They will find you quickly in the mountains. Once with them, ask for Stonefur or Brooke. They will willingly lead you the rest of the way to the lake. Do not turn the tribe down if they offer to help in the battle, they are good friends of ours. Let them come if they want. Did you catch all that?"

"I got it. Follow the river, find Ravenpaw's barn, follow setting sun until we find mountains, ask for Stonefur or Brooke once we meet the tribe cats, follow the tribe cats to the lake." Recited Echosong. After a moment she looked directly into the tom's eyes and asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"No you got it all. Now hurry! We don't have much time, either of us!" as soon as Jayfeather said this, Echosong disappeared. 'She must have woken up' he thought to himself.

He decided he should warn the tribe that SkyClan would be coming in a few sun-rises. And so, in his mind, Jayfeather quickly traveled to the mountains and entered Crag's dream.

When he first entered the dream, Jayfeather saw that Crag was talking with a Tribe of Rushing Water ancestor; Rock. He decided to wait until they were finished talking. That was until Rock looked directly at him and said:

"Ah, and here is now. Greetings, Jayfeather. Good to see you, Jay's Wing. " Meowed the old cat.

"You knew I was coming?" Meowed Jayfeather quite surprised.

"Yes. That is why I summoned Crag " Answered Rock.

"Oh. Did you tell him why I was coming?" Jayfeather asked.

"Actually, Jayfeather, he only told me that you were coming to tell me something important." Said Crag, the Tribe's new Stoneteller. "So, why are you here?"

"There's a Clan of cats traveling from a gorge, past where the old territories were, and they are coming to the lake. They will be passing over the mountains and will most likely have elders and kits with them."

"What Clan? I thought you were all settled at the lake already." Crag-Stoneteller said.

"All who still lived in the forest. This Clan is called SkyClan and they were forced to leave their old territory because of twolegs. Now, the twolegs are making them leave again. It is vital that you help them, otherwise all clans, and, possibly the Tribe, will be doomed." Meowed ThunderClan's medicine cat.

"Fine. We will help them. But only to repay you our debts. And, because you are our friends, I may send more than just Stonefur and Brooke with the Clan. When will they be arriving? " Stoneteller said this with a knowing look.

"They should be here within the next moon. I would guess seven to fifteen sun-rises."

"Alright. We shall have a patrol walk by the area where the Clans came from on their first journey here. I will ask Rock to let you know when they have entered our territory."

"Thank you. You don't know how much this means. We will forever be in your debt. Goodbye, Stoneteller." with that said, Jayfeather left Crag and awoke, in the medicine cat den once more.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!:D**


	3. Stay or Leave?

**Chapter 3: Stay or Leave?**

**A/N: YAY! I can't believe this went from being a one-shot to already having three chapters in less than a week! You guys are awesome! **

**Thanks to: Mosstar, Graceful Death, Fruitloops25, Foxbracken, HamsterRox and slmliau for reviewing! :D**

**Thanks to: pofien, isua, EvilAntauri and any others I may have forgotten for adding this story to their favorites and/or alerts! **

**So this chapter is different from the other two in that it's not from Jayfeather's limited third person POV but from someone else's… ****Read on to find out! :)**

**Edit: I'm doing the same thing here as i was with chapter two :3**

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"No you got it all. Now hurry! We don't have much time, either of us!" Jayfeather, ThunderClan's medicine cat meowed. Not long after, Echosong felt herself waking. _Even though I didn't manage to talk to StarClan, I still found out where we need to go._ she thought to herself.

Once she was fully awake, she looked around at the cave with the glowing moss. _Now, what to tell Leafstar? I'll just have to figure that out fast, before talking to her._

Echosong decided to go search for herbs. She was running low on poppy seeds, thyme and yarrow, plus, herb gathering helped her think. Unfortunately, as soon as she emerged from the cave, she saw her Clan leader talking with one of the daylight warriors. _He's a full warrior now._ she chided herself. She thought that maybe, just maybe, she could pass by without her leader noticing. She just didn't know how to tell Leafstar about her dream yet.

But, as she was passing by behind her leader, Billystorm looked up and saw her passing by.

"Hey Echosong! Well, I guess Leafstar and I can keep talking later." The ginger-and-white tom said. "Bye Leafstar." as he walked off, Leafstar turned to Echosong.

"Did StarClan speak with you last night? Did our ancestors say what to do about the twolegs?" she asked without hesitation.

"Umm.. Not exactly." Echosong said shyly, looking at the ground the whole time.

"What do you mean 'Not exactly'?" Leafstar asked with a hint of disapproval in her voice.

"Well, umm.. How do I put it?" Echosong paused, not sure if she should tell the truth or not. She took a deep breath and decided to just tell her leader. "Last night, I didn't talk with StarClan. I talked with Jayfeather, the medicine cat of Firestar's Clan." she looked to her leader to see if she was following.

"Go on. Tell me what this 'Jayfeather' told you." Leafstar meowed.

"He, well, he told me where we must go to save ourselves from the twolegs. He told me how to go most of the journey. And for the rest, we will have one of his friends to lead us the rest of the way."

"How could he possibly know about the twolegs destroying the gorge? Did you tell him?" asked her leader, suspiciously.

"No! I didn't tell him that. He came up to me while I was looking into the pool in the center of StarClan's hunting grounds. He asked me if I was Echosong, and, once I'd confirmed that I was, he told me to follow the river until we saw the remains of a forest and a nearby farm." Echosong paused to take a breath and then continued, "He said that from there, we were to follow the setting sun until we found mountains. In the mountains there is a tribe of cats. Jayfeather told me that once we met them to ask for Stormfur or Brooke, one of them would lead us the rest of the way. And he also said that if more of the tribe wanted to come, to let them."

"So, what do you think we should do? If we stay here we will starve to death or get captured, but if we leave, the elders and kits will be in danger. What should we do?" Leafstar looked desperately to Echosong. The medicine cat didn't like the look her leader was giving her, that look of pure terror. It was chilling to know that her leader was afraid. Calming herself, she decided that she must tell her leader the rest, the part she had deliberately left out.

"Leafstar, there's more. And it might influence your decision. Jayfeather said that there's a place where evil cats go after death called the Dark Forest. He said that they will soon take revenge against all the Clans and the Tribe. He said that unless we wish to face them all alone, that we must leave immediately to find the Clans. Otherwise, not only will we be weak from hunger and sickness, but we will be completely and utterly on our own." Echosong couldn't help the shiver that passed through her as she thought of the troubles that might befall her Clan if they didn't leave.

"I see. That decides it then. We will leave as soon as possible. Go and prepare the traveling herbs. I will tell the Clan we are leaving." Echosong nodded and started to go to her den to prepare the herbs when her leader called her back. "And, Echosong, thank you. You may have just saved us all."

Echosong gave a leaf wrap full of the traveling herbs to every cat of the Clan. As soon as she was sure everyone had had theirs, she went back to her den to eat her own and to gather the leaf wraps she had filled with poultices, incase one of the cats got an injury. They most certainly didn't need infection on their long journey.

As she left her den, she saw Sharpclaw entering the gorge with the daylight warriors; Harveymoon, Ebonyclaw, Macgyver and Snookthorn, as well as her apprentice; Frecklewish. She looked to the deputy, and when he nodded, she took it as a sign that he had explained their situation to them and that they were coming with the rest of the Clan.

Echosong sighed and went back to her den to fetch them some traveling herbs.

As soon as they were finished gulping them down, Leafstar addressed the Clan from the top of the Rockpile.

"Now that everyone has had their traveling herbs, we must leave. Echosong, come to the front with me, since the directions were given to you. Sharpclaw, walk in the back, and make sure nobody strays. Billystorm, Sparrowpelt, walk on either side of the Clan. The rest of the warriors and queens, carry the kits. Pass them around so that no one gets too tired. Tangle, Lichenfur, if either of you get too tired, tell one of the warriors or apprentices and they will run up to me to let me know and we will take a short rest, and take some time to hunt." Leafstar jumped down from the Rockpile and beckoned to Echosong with her tail. Once everyone was in place and ready to go, SkyClan's leader said "Now it is time to leave. Let's go." And with one last sad look, the fifth Clan left their precious gorge forever and set out into the unknown.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review, even if you didn't like it. Also, if you found any grammar or spelling errors, please let me know! **

**I was originally planning on ending this chapter later on, after they had actually left the gorge, but it just felt right to end it here. I hope you enjoyed! I'll try to have chapter 4 up soon!**

**Jay~**


	4. Revelations

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, but I live in Canada and I just finished exams. School's out for summer now, so updates should come faster. Until the 8th of July at least. Then I leave for a three week cadet camp, so no updates for a while.**

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited and added me to your alerts. You guys are the reason I am still writing this, instead of leaving it as a one-shot. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! :D**

**Disclaimer: Jayfeather: Hey Jayfire! You wanna play truth or dare?**

**Me: Okay! Sure!**

**Jayfeather: truth or dare?**

**Me: dare!**

**Jayfeather: I dare you to tell everyone that you don't own the warriors series. *insert evil smile***

**Me: uh.. I picked truth...**

**Jayfeather: Fine! Do you own the warriors series?**

**Me: *crying* NO! I don't! *sob* Jayfeather I hate you! *sob***

**;)**

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As soon as Jayfeather opened his eyes the next morning, he realized he had some serious explanations to give. First off there was the fact that the other Clans didn't know about the threat from the Dark Forest. Then there was SkyClan coming and they had to find them a permanent territory, well first Jayfeather had to actually _tell_ the other Clans that they were coming.

"How am I supposed to tell Firestar all of this?" Jayfeather asked himself out loud. He decided to talk with Lionblaze and Dovepaw while they were out training.

"Hey Lionblaze!" Jayfeather called as he scented his brother near the fresh-kill pile. Lowering his voice so that only his brother could hear, he said "You, Dovepaw and I need to talk. I had an important dream last night."

"I'm sorry Jayfeather, but you'll have to wait. Dovepaw and Ivypaw have their assessments today. We leave as soon as the two finish eating. I'm really sorry." Jayfeather could feel his brother's sadness and guilt at having to turn down their talk. _Oh well. I guess I'll just have to tell Firestar before talking with them._ he thought to himself. Sighing, he padded over to the rocks leading up to the ledge outside Firestar's den. He paused before entering to call a greeting, but stopped when a strangely familiar WindClan scent hit the roof of his mouth. Confused, he leaned forward to hear the conversation better.

"Yes, that's right. Some of our warriors have been waking up with mysterious injuries in the morning, and one has even disappeared completely. I asked StarClan if they knew why it was happening and Tallstar told me to talk with the 'Clan of Thunder'." the WindClan cat said.

"Kestrelwing," That's why Jayfeather recognized the scent! It was WindClan's medicine cat! Of course! "I think you should ask Jayfeather these questions. I don't know much about what's happening in StarClan." At the mention of his name, Jayfeather quickly scrambled down from the rock ledge and ran back to his den, hoping he made it back before Kestrelwing left Firestar's den.

He'd just barely managed to gather enough herbs around himself to make it look like he'd been in his den the whole time, when he heard the rusling of some cat pushing through the thorn tunnel that led to his den. A second later the WindClan medicine cat's scent hit the roof of his mouth, and Jayfeather called out a greeting.

"Greetings, Kestrelwing. How are things in WindClan?" he asked cautiously, trying to make it seem as I'd he hadn't jut heard the conversation between the cat in front of him and his Clan leader.

"Well, actually, that's why I'm here. I was wondering why some of our warriors and apprentices are waking up with mysterious wounds. Tallstar told me to talk to 'the Clan of Thunder'. He said your Clan was the only one who knew what is happening and how to save the Clans from it. Jayfeather, you must help me." Jayfeather heard, and felt, the desperation his WindClan counter part was feeling. He decided it would be best for his friend to know what was going on.

"Okay I'll tell you what's going on, but you must let Onestar know immediately." Jayfeather took a shaky breath, preparing for the meows of disagreement that were sure to come. "Well, you see when cats die, thy don't all go to StarClan, some go to the-" Jayfeather paused when he heard the rustling of the bushes that guarded the medicine den. He took a breath and bristled at the scent; ShadowClan. His claws slid out and he crouched, preparing to leap. Then, he felt Kestrelwing's tail lay on his shoulder and he relaxed. He opened his mouth to smell better and felt guilty when he recognized the scent. It was Littlecloud, ShadowClan's medicine cat.

"Hello Jayfeather. Kestrelwing. Wait. Why is WindClan's medicine cat here?" meowed the older cat sounding slightly suspicious. Jayfeather could sense that Littlecloud was nervous, he was thinking that WindClan and ThunderClan were in an alliance.

"Well, since this is my den, I'll be asking the questions." hissed Jayfeather. He could feel surprise radiating of the other two cats, almost as if he had grown a second head. "Littlecloud, I'll tell you what Kestrelwing is doing here once you explain your reason." he said, nodding in the ShadowClan cat's direction.

"Well, I'm here because there is something strange going on in ShadowClan. A few of the warriors are waking up with injuries. When I asked Runningnose about it, he said to talk with 'The sharp eyed Jay'. So, I thought about all the cats that had the 'Jay' as part of their name and you are the only one. I thought it was weird that he would call a blind cat 'sharp eyed', but I decided to take a chance. And that's why I'm here." Jayfeather could feel the defiance coming off of Littlecloud. It was almost as if he was his mentor, scolding him for being reckless. It was odd, at any rate.

"Kestrelwing is here for the same reason. Except that Tallstar told him to ask the 'The Clan of Thunder'. Are you both ready to know what has being going on within your Clans?" Jayfeather asked. He didn't want to start the explanation and then be interrupted by meows of disbelief at his every sentence. He heard the _swish_ of moving fur and assumed that meant the two older medicine cats had nodded. "Alright. I'll start from the very beginning. You see-" Once again the rustling of the screen of bushes that hid the medicine den interrupted his sentence. "What now!" he snapped. If it wasn't an emergency, someone would be losing a tail! He opened his jaws to taste the scent, and he knew immediately who the cat was and why they had come. Before they even made it through all of the bushes, Jayfeather spoke. "Hello, Willowshine. I am assuming you are here because some of your warriors have been waking up with strange injuries. What did Leopardstar tell you to do?" he felt the young she-cat's surprise like it was his own. And he felt it strengthen when she pushed through the last section of bushes and stepped into his den.

"H-Hello, Jayfeather, Kestrelwing, Littlecloud. A-A-Actually, it was Crookedstar I talked to. He said to go to 'The Clan of the Brave'. He said that my counter part in that Clan would know all the answers. Is that why these two are here? StarClan told them to speak with you? Jayfeather, what is going on?"

"Great! So we're all here for the same reason then. Jayfeather, you must tell us. It will be for the good of all the Clans." Littlecloud said. He was nervous. Jayfeather realized that he was most likely hoping he had dreamed about the weird injuries, but now knew it was reality when the same thing was going on in the other Clans.

"Okay. As soon as I'm done with my explanation, you must tell your Clan leaders immediately. So, as I was telling Kestrelwing earlier, cats go to two places when they die. If they did no evil in their life, they go to StarClan. If they did do evil, and I mean lots of evil, then they go to The Place of No Stars, otherwise called The Dark Forest. You all understand so far?" he asked. He knew what they were thinking; all this time, and it takes a blind medicine cat to figure out where the bad cats go.

"We understand. Please continue." Littlecloud meowed. The others probably nodded, forgetting that Jayfeather couldn't see them.

"Well, just as StarClan is able to enter a cat's dream, so are the cats of the Dark Forest. Right now, Tigerstar is leading them. He is entering cats' dreams and bringing them all into the Dark Forest to train. He is training them to fight. And guess what? He has convinced those cats that the best way for the Clans is if there was no warrior code. He believes it should be survival of the fittest. So, he is going to use those living cats he has been training to fight in the ultimate battle. It will be the Dark Forest against us. Even the dead cats will be fighting this battle." He stopped talking there, figuring he would just answer their questions.

"B-But how do you know all this?" Willowshine asked tentatively.

"I know this because Yellowfang brought me to the Dark Forest one night. She showed me what they were planning. Plus, one of our apprentices, who was part of the Dark Forest, came to me and told me what was going on. She wanted out, but she couldn't get Tigerstar to leave her alone. Now she is spying for us. I know it is dangerous, but it was her choice." he thought he might be telling them too much, but them remembered that he had to trust them. The Clans would have to unite.

"Why is Tigerstar doing this?" ah, the question he was waiting for.

"You all know about Tigerstar's hatred towards Firestar. Well, this is just another way for him to get his revenge. It took him so long to come up with this plan because it wasn't until Lionblaze was an apprentice that he tried entering dreams. And he tought my brother how to fight. But when he tried getting him to harm Firestar, Lionblaze figured out that Tigerstar was just using him. They fought, and that's when Tigerstar figured out that he could actually hurt living cats. That's when he started to put his plan in motion."

"Does Firestar know all this?" Kestrelwing asked. Of course.

"Yes. Of course I would tell him. He just didn't tell you when you were talking because he thought it wasn't his business to share the news." Jayfeather realized, too late that he had slipped. Oh, well.

"When will you tell the rest of the Clans?" Willowshine asked.

"Tonight, at the Gathering. Make sure none of the cats who have woken up with mysterious injuries are there. I will reveal StarClan's plan tonight as well. Do you understand?" he had to make sure they understood the dangers if a Dark Forest cat were to be present.

"Yes." Kestrelwing meowed certainly.

"Yes. I will do that." meowed Littlecloud.

"Y-Yes. No traitorous cat from RiverClan will be present." Willowshine whispered, determined.

"All right. You all may go. Tell your Clan leaders as soon as you return." he waited in his den as he heard the three medicine cats leave. As soon as they had all left his den, he trotted over to the rock pile that led up to Firestar's den. "Greetings, Firestar." he meowed before entering.

"Hello Jayfeather. I assume you are finished talking with the medicine cats. May I ask what you told them?" his Clan leader asked curiously.

"I only told them of the Dark Forest's plan. They will tell their Clan leaders of it and make sure they bring no cat that has received mysterious injury to tonight's Gathering. The rest, I will reveal then." Jayfeather answered. He hoped Firestar didn't mind.

"Very well. I trust your judgment. Now, Jayfeather, go and rest. You must be ready for tonight's gathering." Firestar meowed and ushered the smaller tom out of the den.

Jayfeather was just putting the last of the newly collected juniper berries into a leaf wrap when he heard Firestar's call. For a second, he considered staying behind and letting his leader deliver the news of the Dark Forest to all the Clans. Then, he remembered that he hadn't told any cat about SkyClan and the Tribe coming. Sighing, he got up and left his den.

The walk to the island where Gatherings were held was quiet. The only words muttered were faint curses as a cat twisted their paw in a rabbit hole, and the quiet meows of the newer apprentices going to their first , and possibly last, Gathering.

When they reached the fallen tree, Jayfeather scrambled to the front to go second, just after Firestar, before he lost his nerve and went home. As soon as he entered the clearing where ShadowClan and WindClan were already gathered, he went to find the medicine cats.

"Are there any cats here from the Dark Forest?" he asked the two other cats.

"Nope. I made sure of it." said Littlecloud.

"None from WindClan either. Breezepelt tried coming along, but Onestar caught him and told him that if he didn't stay in the camp, he would have apprentice duties for the next moon!" Kestrelwing meowed.

"And none of them from RiverClan are here either." Willowshine said. Jayfeather jumped. He hadn't realized that RiverClan had arrived on the island. Before any cat could say any more, Mistystsr's loud yowl rippled through the clearing.

"Welcome, cats of all four Clans. Tonight we Gather in peace, under the treaty put in place by StarClan." she said. She sat down on her branch and motioned to Blackstar to start.

"ShadowClan doesn't have much to report. One of our queens has had four kits and we have a new medicine cat apprentice. The prey has been running well." he sat back down and nodded to Onestar to start speaking.

"Not much in WindClan either. We have a new warrior, Furzetail." at this, all the cats joined in to howl a greeting to the new, young warrior. He nodded to Firestar that he should go next, but Firestar just nodded to Mistystar that she would go before him.

"The fish have been swimming in swarms this past moon, and every cat is well fed. The only thing we have to report is sightings of a dog on our territory, near the border with ShadowClan." she sat back on her haunches and beckoned to Firestar.

"In ThunderClan, we have two new warriors. Dovewing and Ivypool." he paused as the cats chanted the names of the new warriors. Then, with a feeling of nervousness he said " And, Jayfeather has some news he would like to share with all of the clans."

Jayfeather felt the wave of surprise and despair -despair because if a medicine cat had news important enough to tell everyone at a gathering, it had to be bad- radiating out from every single cat in the clearing. Jayfeather gulped, than steeled his resolve and walked over to the base of the big oak in the center of the clearing.

Turning to the leaders, he said "You have not brought any cat that woke up with strange injuries, right?" he asked the WindClan, RiverClan and ShadowClan leaders. They meowed that they had made sure that they hadn't. Jayfeather turned back to the clans, took a deep breath and started. "You all know that when a cat dies, they go to StarClan. Well, the evil cats, like Tigerstar, go to a different place after death. They go to The Place of No Stars, otherwise called the Dark Forest. Tigerstar figured out how to enter dreams and train cats to fight while they sleep. He has convinced those cats that the only way for the clans to survive is to abandon the warrior code. Tigerstar is planning to lead an attack against us, he will try to kill all of you. Before you ask, I know all this because Yellowfang showed it to me in a dream." he paused to catch his breath. But, before he could continue, some cat in the clearing asked "Do you have a plan? Or do you expect us to come up with one?" Jayfeather pondered lying for a second, but reconsidered when he realized that the sooner the other cats know, the better.

"As a matter of fact, I do have a plan. First of all, StarClan will be fighting with us. But, even with their help, victory was pointless. So, Yellowfang, Spottedleaf and Featherwhisker summoned me to them. They gave me knowledge, compassion and understanding. Plus, they told me a frightening prophecy. _'Four shall be left alone to face twelve. At the claws of Tiger, a leader shall perish and Darkness shall rule forevermore'_. So, because StarClan can't give a leader a tenth life, they gave me the power to do so and told me to give it to Firestar. But even with that, the prophecy would still come true, because there would be twelve against three warriors and a blind medicine cat. The only way to have a chance at beating the Dark Forest was to get SkyClan and The Tribe of Running Water to help, since all of our ancestry is, originally, the same." Jayfeather could feel the disbelief radiating out from the crowd of cats gathered around him.

"Do you have any proof to show us you are telling the truth?" asked an old tom.

Jayfeather closed his eyes and called to three cats: Rock, Brightspirit and Cloudstar. When he opened his eyes, expecting only the usual blackness, he saw the three cats he had called, and he could tell from the collective gasps and waves of surprise that every other cat could too.

"Greetings, clan cats. I am Rock. I know all that has happened, is happening and will happen. I know how each and everyone of you will die. Jayfeather is telling the truth. Having SkyClan and the tribe come is the only way for the clans to survive." The old cat meowed in his raspy voice. Then, he turned to Jayfeather and said "I hope you do tell them about the three before the night ends. They need to know, it is the only way for all the pieces to fit." Jayfeather nodded and Rock sat on his haunches and nodded that Brightspirit should speak next.

"Hi, I am Brightspirit. I have helped the clans many times in the past, but all I can say this time is: listen to Jayfeather. This is something way too serious for him to lie about. He could ask any other StarClan cat to tell you the same." she said in her quiet, reassuring voice. It seemed to soothe most every cat. One cat, however, still called out a question. "What about SkyClan? Who are they?" As soon as she said that, Cloudstar glanced up at where the leaders were sitting, then to Rock, and finally to Jayfeather.

"SkyClan is the fifth clan. I was the last leader for many, many moons. I was forced to move the clan from our old territory to a far away gorge because the twolegs made the twoleg place with their strange nests in our territory. We couldn't survive in the gorge long either; an army of intelligent rats that could communicate to each other, and one who could talk to cats, killed many of us before we separated." he paused and looked back up to where Jayfeather assumed Firestar was seated in the big tree before continuing. "The time when Firestar and Sandstorm left for many moons was the time when they brought the clan back together. They found apprentices, warriors, kits and queens, elders, a medicine cat and a new leader. They also defeated the rats and gave SkyClan a safe place to live. But, now the twolegs are destroying the gorge and SkyClan is forced to move. Luckily, you need us to fight the Dark Forest. After all, they would come after us next anyways. They are traveling here as we speak, under Leafstar's leadership and Echosong's guidance. When they reach here, with the tribe, they will help you beat the Dark Forest." Cloudstar finished speaking and nodded to Jayfeather.

"Since their territory is being destroyed, SkyClan will live with the rest of the clans. They will live in the territory bordering the mountain stream, outside our territory. Are there any questions?" as Jayfeather spoke, the three cats he had summoned disappeared.

"What did Rock mean about 'the three'?" asked a she-cat.

"Well, when Firestar was with SkyClan, he received a prophecy. It said _'There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws'_. The three have now come." Jayfeather spoke cautiously, trying not to let every cat know that he was one of the three. But of course, one curious cat, Graystripe, asked who the three were.

"There is a prophecy about that too. _'After the sharp eyed jay, and the roaring lion, peace will come on dove's gentle wing'_. I think it is supposed to hint at who the three are." he answered dejectedly. He knew that they would all figure it out. His suspicions were confirmed when he felt surprise ripple through the crowd of gathered cats.

"Sharp-eyed? How can a blind cat be sharp-eyed?" sneered a rusty old tom.

Jayfeather didn't answer. Instead, he said "If we are to win the coming battle, we must join together, all the clans and the tribe, fighting together, as one. We must become LionClan once more." his words were met with shouts of agreement from all four leaders, the medicine cats and their apprentices, Lionblaze, Dovewing and Ivypool. A few seconds later, the rest of the cats joined in.

"Together, we will fight the forces of the Dark Forest as one. LionClan we become once more, under the leadership of Firestar." Mistystar cried, and for the first time, all the cats were in agreement. Jayfeather could feel their hope and determination, as well as his own, at Mistystar's words. They would wait until the tribe and SkyClan had arrived, and then, the Dark Forest would have a nasty surprise when they attacked.

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**A/N: thanks so much for reading guys! As per usual, please feel free to point out any spelling/grammar errors. Oh, and one more thing. Please Review! It means a lot!**

**Thanks :D**

**Jay~**


	5. The Truth

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm throwing a curve ball at y'all. Instead of going back to SkyClan in this chapter, I'm going to the Tribe. Yep, you heard me right. I'm writing from the Tribe's POV. It's going to be what happens just after Jayfeather talks to Crag/Stoneteller in his dream. I'm calling Crag by both names in this chapie. It may be short, but I've already written chapter 6, I actually wrote that one first, but then I came up with the idea to do this. Oh, and don't worry. I'm working on chapter 7 right now. **

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: yes! I gave Vicky some chocolate and she gave me the warriors series!**

**ThunderClan: NOOOOOOOO!**

**WindClan: OMSC! (oh my StarClan) Kill us now!**

**RiverClan: Why? Why must you be so cruel? :'(**

**ShadowClan: This is soo not fair! **

**Vicky: it's okay guys! I was just kidding! Jay doesn't own anything!**

**Me: WHAT! But you said-... NOOO! Vicky, why?**

**;)**

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Crag awoke from his dream, slightly confused. He had thought that all the clans were safe and living by the Lake. Now he learnt that there was a fifth clan, and it wasn't StarClan. It was a clan that had been forced to leave the old territory and live by a gorge. Now, their territory was being destroyed and they had to go to the lake, something about a fight against evil dead cats destroying the clans? Anyway, they where supposed to be arriving in the mountains within a moon, and Jayfeather had asked if Stormfur and Brook would lead the clan to the lake. Crag remembered saying that he would send more than just those two, but who else?

Sighing and shaking his head, Crag looked out the hole in the top of his den to see if it was light out yet. He saw that it was only moonhigh. Sighing again, he decided to go back to sleep. He closed his eyes and within seconds he was asleep.

When Crag opened his eyes, he wasn't his cave of a den anymore. For a second he was nervous, afraid he had been cat-napped or something, but then he looked around and recognized where he was. He was in the mountain clearing with the round pool in the center. In front of him stood his ancestors. He knew a few, the Tribe's old Stoneteller and Feathertail among others, but here were some that he still didn't know.

"Why do you summon?" he asked bowing his head with respect.

"Important message. Jay's Wing told you the truth. All of his words are true. But there is a part he left out. The Dark Forest won't stop at destroying the clans. They will attack the tribe as well. The entire tribe, kits and elders included, will have to go to the lake. The tribe of thunder will shelter you there. We have already confirmed this with Jay's Wing."they said in unison. Crag blinked, and cocked his head to the side.

"But who's Jay's Wing?" he asked his ancestors.

"You know him as Jayfeather, the new form of Jay's Wing." Feathertail meowed. "Now you must return to the tribe and deliver the news." Crag nodded as the wind picked up and everything went black.

When he opened his eyes, Crag was surprised to see it was starting to get light out. Walking out of his side cave and into the main one, he saw that most of the tribe was already awake. He walked over to the big rock in the center of the cave and called the tribe in for a meeting. Once they were all there he started.

"Jayfeather came to me in a dream last night. He says that the fifth clan, SkyClan is traveling this way. They should be here in a moon. I asked him why they were coming and he said it was for two reasons, one because their old territory was being torn apart by the twolegs, and two because the Place of No Stars will attack all the clans and if they are to survive, all the clans must unite, including SkyClan. " he paused for air after rushing that out. He was going to continue, but a to-be interrupted.

"But how does this affect us?" Pebble asked.

"There was more to Jayfeather's message. He asked if some of our cats could escort them there. He also said that the Dark Forest might come after us. After he left, The Tribe of Endless Hunting visited me. They confirmed what Jayfeather had suspected. The Dark Forest will attack us. As soon as SkyClan gets here, we will have to leave, all of us, to stay with the clans at the lake. ThunderClan will provide shelter for us once we're there. " he finished. The cave was silent, deadly silent. Not a single sound, aside from tue roaring of tue waterfall. And then Stormfur spoke up.

"What do you want us to do?" Crag was happy he had decided to stay. Stormfur was always so calm and collected, and he was probably the bravest cat in the tribe.

"Stormfur, Brook, each of you, gather some cats and go hunting. We must have lots of food since we will be housing a clan in a moon, plus we must all be well fed for our travel and the fight that awaits us once we arrive."

The two cats nodded and started gathering cats to them for a patrol. They left soon after.

~~~~~~one moon later~~~~~~

Crag sat up from his nest and stretched. He was about to wash himself when he remembered that it was time to send out another patrol to see if SkyClan had entered their borders yet. They had been doing so for the past quarter moon, just incase the clan arrived earlier than expected. Stretching again, Crag got out of his nest and went into the main cave. He nodded at Stormfur to come over.

"Good morning Stoneteller." the former RiverClan cat said.

"Greetings Stormfur. Would you please take out a patrol to see if you could find SkyClan?" he asked his most trusted tribe member.

"Of course. I have a feeling today will be the day." he said, and he walked away from his leader and healer to go on his patrol.

Crag walked over to the pile of fresh-kill, took a plump rabbit and shared it with Brook.

After their meal was finished, Crag asked Brook to go hunting, since the pile of fresh-kill was getting low. She nodded and set out with a few other prey-catchers.

Brook returned with her patrol first, and Crag noticed with great pleasure, that they had caught plenty of prey. Stormfur's patrol arrived soon after, with enough cats in tow to make an entire tribe! _This must be SkyClan_ he thought to himself as he observed the thin cats that entered the main cave. He saw some of them glancing around frantically, as if not trusting the tribe cats. As he was looking, Crag noticed that the clan had brought every cat, kits and elders included. He also noticed a dappled she-cat standing at the front of the clan.

"Greetings. I am Cr-I mean the Stoneteller, or as you clan cats call them, leader of the Tribe of Rushing Water. You must be SkyClan, Jayfeather said you were coming. May I speak to your leader?" he said in a rush.

"Greetings, Stoneteller. I am Leafstar, SkyClan's leader. Jayfeather said you were friends of theirs and that you could help us find the lake. Is that so?" the dappled she-cat said, stepping toward him, away from her clan. She was soon joined by a large ginger and white tom, most likely her mate.

"Yes, we are friends of the clans. And we will help you. Once your clan is full fed and rested, we will set off for the lake." Crag meowed. Leafstar nodded and asked where they would be staying. Crag had Brook show the queens and elders where they would sleep, while Pebble showed the apprentices and Stormfur showed the warriors. Crag saw the ginger and white tom start when Stormfur introduced himself.

"Stormfur? Isn't that a clan name?" the tom said.

Sighing, Stormfur answered him "Yes, it is. I was from RiverClan, but on a journey from the old forest I lost my sister here. And then, later, when we brought the four clans, I decided to stay, since I fit in well here, better than in my own clan, and since I had fallen in love with Brook." he said, nodding in his mate's direction. As the clan cats were showed their sleeping places, Leafstar went to talk to Crag.

"So, Stoneteller, Jayfeather told you we were coming?" she asked, sounding suspicious. Crag frowned, he didn't like having his intentions doubted.

"Yes. He came to visit me in a dream. I don't know how, I swear he must have some kind of special ability." Leafstar nodded and said "Can you prove it?". Crag thought for a moment and then said:

"How about I tell you that I know you're here because the twolegs are destroying your territory, which is by a gorge, on the other side of the other clans' old territory, and because Jayfeather convinced you that the only way any of the clans would survive the Dark Forest is if you joined them." Leafstar's mouth gapped open and she nodded.

"I believe we can trust you. Jayfeather is the only one outside of SkyClan that knows this." Crag was relieved that she now trusted the tribe. He told her to tell her clan to feel free to eat and then to rest. They would leave in two sunrises.

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**A/N: so I'm gonna cut it off there. I know some of you are probably thinking "what? No mention of Echosong at all in this chapter? :O" but if I'd mentioned her, it would reveal the outcome of something in a later chapter. I still haven't decoded on the outcome. Anywho, thank you all so much for reading. Feel free to correct any grammar and spelling errors, and please please review. **

**Next chapter will be up very soon! **

**Jay~**


	6. Dangerous Journey

**A/N: Hey guys! I told you I'd update sooner now that school has ended, and I'm keeping my promise! :) It's back to SkyClan in this chapter. I'm sorry if I'm confusing anyone with the back and forth between characters, but that was the last time, I promise!**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: Hey Lionblaze!**

**Lionblaze: Hi Jayfire**

**Me: Guess what? I own the warriors series!**

**Lionblaze: Hah! In your dreams maybe. But in reality, you don't and never will own us!**

**Me: NOOOOOOOOO! *sob* ;)**

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Echosong watched as the cats of SkyClan saw the deserted, bare, devastated expanse land in front of them. It was clear, from the bases where trees used to be, that this was the forest where the rest of the clans used to live. At least, that's what Echosong thought, based on the description of it that Jayfeather had giving to her. It was surprising: Trees uprooted, rocks crushed and lying in pieces, the river there was filled with dirt and mud, and the trees that weren't uprooted were either just stumps left in the ground or they were sickly looking and dead. Echosong breathed in and coughed; there was a strong acrid stench, it was disgusting. Just smelling it made her sick to her stomach.

"Leafstar, I think this is the forest Jayfeather described to me in his dream." she said, slowing down to let her leader catch up. "Ravenpaw's barn should be around here somewhere. Maybe we'll be able to see it if we climb that ridge?" she suggested, turning to her leader. Leafstar nodded and led the way up the ridge. Echosong hung back to take Leafstar's place with the queens.

When she reached the top of the ridge, Echosong froze, gasping with shock. Below where the clan was standing, there were a bunch of twolegs building their strange nests. _No wonder the clans left the forest_ Echosong thought to herself. She shook her head, snapping out of her trance and gazed into the distance, trying to spot a barn. Or a cat. Before long, Cherrytail spoke up.

"I think I see a barn over there!" she exclaimed excitedly, pointing with her tail. Sure enough, when Echosong looked to where the young she-cat was pointing, she saw a big red barn in the distance. Was it her or was there a black shape moving along at it's base? She ignored it and turned to her leader.

"Leafstar, if we leave now, we could make it there before dark. We wouldn't want to get stuck here during the night anyways." Leafstar nodded and said that Echsong should lead the way along the edges of the twoleg activities. Taking a deep breath and warning the clan of what they were going to do, the pretty medicine cat led the way.

Echosong led the clan around the area where the twolegs were working. She led them from dry dying bush to dry dying bush, always being careful and making sure no twolegs were watching. She led them in groups, elders and queens first, with a few warriors, and then the apprentices and the rest of the warriors went last.

There was one time where they had a close call, a very close call. Echosong was leading the past of the warriors across to the last bush before they could make a run for the red barn that was very close now. She made it to the bush first and then turned back to make sure everyone made it. But then Sparrowpelt stumbled and twisted his paw, letting out a yelp. His eyes widened when he realized his mistake and he looked to see a twoleg turn around. The twoleg, a male by his scent, yelled something and one of the other ran off. Then he started advancing to where the young warrior was limping across the last bit of open ground before he reached the scraggly bush. Echosong realized with horror that he wasn't going to make it. Leafstar saw this too, and she moved forward to save one of the first members of her clan. Echosong couldn't watch her leader go. So she did the only thing she could.

"Leafstar! You can't go. You have your kits to care for, they're still too young to survive without their mother. I'll go, you must continue on." the brave, petite medicine cat said.

"But, Echosong, we need-"

"Just go to the barn. Talk to Ravenpaw, tell him you're Firestar's friends and that you need to get to the mountains. He'll tell you how to get there. Trust me." Echosong said cutting her leader off. She could see it pained Leafstar very much to let her go, but she also realized it was what had to happen. Nodding, she went to the front of the clan to wait for Sparrowpelt before taking a run to the barn.

Echosong swallowed her fear and turned back to where the twoleg was rapidly catching up to the tom. She leapt out from the cover of the bush and ran so that she was in front of Sparrowpelt. Hissing, she arched her back and let her claws slide out.

"Echosong, no!" Sparrowpelt yelled.

Not even turning around, Echosong replied "Keep running. I'll keep him away from you. Leafstar is waiting with the rest of the clan at the bush. Now hurry!" she heard the warrior run off as fast as his sprained paw would let him. The twoleg was still advancing on her. Spitting, she ran toward him and lashed out with her paw. She felt her claws cut the flesh, but she kept running in the direction away from her clan. She heard the twoleg turn and howl with rage and pain before running after her.

She glanced back for a second and saw that he was closing in on her. _StarClan help me!_ she thought to herself as she turned back to the front and kept running.

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**A/N: I'm sorry it's so short, and for the cliffy ;), but when I was writing this it just felt right to end his here. But don't worry, I'll be updating this soon.. Or will I? Lol jk I promise I will update soon. **

**As usual, please review and tell me of any grammar/spelling errors that you find! **

**Thanks for all your support guys**

**Jay~**


	7. Meeting of Rock

**A/N: Yay! I can't believe this used to be a one-shot! Okay so I left you guys hanging for a couple of days with that awful cliffie, but I just had to write chapter 7. It might be a little short, but we'll find out after I write it. You see, I don't plan it out a head of time. Ideas just come to me. I write it down, but it's not guaranteed I'll use it. And then if it comes to mind again, bam! It's a good idea. So, most of the time I'm just writing and randomly, I get this feeling that I should do something different than what I had planned...**

**Thanks to Fruitloops25 for the one review I got for last chapter. :D**

**And thanks to the two who messaged me! You three are all awesome!:D**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: *crying into pillow***

**Mom:What's wrong Jay?**

**Me:I just found out that I don't own the warriors series! *sob* And I don't own Jayfeather! *sobs even harder* :'(**

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Echosong could feel the ground shake as the twoleg got closer and closer to her. She just hoped that she would be able to get him far enough from the clan to allow them to reach Ravenpaw's barn safely. She wondered if they'd find the mountains alright without her, and if they would be able to find the clans. _Now's not the time!_ she told herself.

_Run. Come on! Faster! Faster!_ she kept chanting to herself as she tried in vain to escape the twoleg who was rapidly closing the distance between them. The ground shook more and more as the twoleg got closer. A big, hairless paw clamped down around her throat.

She closed her eyes as her breathing was restricted by the big paw. She felt herself be lifted off the ground and she tried to swat the twoleg and make him let her go. But it was no use. She was having trouble concentrating and her limbs were going numb. She tried opening her eyes, but her eyelids were heavy. She managed to opened them a crack but her vision was too fuzzy. She couldn't see anything. Her eyes closed again and she tried to take a breath. Nothing, no air entered her lungs. Her head fell back, and she stopped struggling.

Echosong felt herself being lifted by a cool, but gentle and comfortable breeze. She felt herself being laid down in soft, lush grass. She heard the trickle of water and risked opening her eyes. She looked around, and recognized where she was, she was in StarClan.

_No. I couldn't have died. Could I?_ she thought to herself. She saw a tortoise-shell cat approaching her with a smaller grey cat beside it. She realized, with a start, that she knew them both. Spottedleaf and Jayfeather. Spottedleaf was looking at her sadly, while Jayfeather was staring at her, eyes wide with surprise.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" she asked the two cats.

Jayfeather shook his head and answered her. "No. You're not. You don't smell like a StarClan cat. You still smell alive." Echosong looked at him, bewildered. A small shard of hope grew in her heart. But then she remembered where she was, and she grew confused.

"But then why am I here?" she asked, quite surprised at how calm and steady her voice sounded.

"My dear, I died in a way similar to how you almost did, I had my throat slashed and it felt like I was being strangled. You are quite lucky. Jayfeather had a vision of a cat being strangled by a twoleg and he came and talked to me. I realized it was you. We where able to save you just in time. Jayfeather has something to ease your breathing when you awake." Spottedleaf answered her. Echosong was so relieved that she sprung up and ran over to the two cats, licked them both on the head and meowed "Thank you, thank you, thank you!". Jayfeather gave her three red berries she recognized as juniper and then a wind picked up and the two cats disappeared.

Echosong's eyes closed again, and this time when she opened them, she was back in the old forest. _No not a forest._ she reminded herself. It was the start of a twoleg place now. She sat up and gave a stretch. She looked around and spotted the red barn her clanmates were headed to before she almost died. But there was no sign of cats. _They must already be at the barn._ she told herself. She got to her feet and trotted off in the direction of the barn.

On her way there, Echosong didn't have any problems from twolegs. The only thing that scared her was when she passed the dogs. They ran out from nowhere. And then as suddenly as they had appeared, they stopped running toward her. That's when she saw the leash that attached them to a stick in the ground. She let out a breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding.

When she reached the barn, she looked through a hole that she assumed was being used as the entrance. She saw her clan leader, Leafstar pacing the length of the barn. Echosong immediately felt guilty for running off and leaving her leader so anxious. _You saved Sparrowpelt_ she reminded herself. She looked around and found him sitting next to his sister, gazing worriedly at his leader. Echosong couldn't take it anymore, she stepped into the barn.

"Leafstar, everything's alright. Look, I'm alive." she meowed. Every single pair of eyes in the barn turned to look at her.

"No it's not!" Leafstar snapped, not realizing who the newcomer was. "Echosong died! I saw it-" she stopped, mouth hanging wide open, eyes huge with shock. "Echosong! You-you're alive!" she said. Leafstar ran over to Echosong and started nuzzling her like crazy.

"How did you escape? We left like you told us too, but we saw the twoleg grab your neck." Billystorm said, coming over to join the two she-cats.

"Jayfeather. He-he had a vision of a cat being strangled by a twoleg. He told Spottedleaf and they came and rescued me just in time. Leafstar, I would be dead if it weren't for Jayfeather. I think-" she swallowed. "-I think he has some kind of special power. How else would he be able to have that vision?" Echosong said. SkyClan's leader opened her mouth to reply when a muscular black cat walked in.

"Leafstar, I'm sorry. We couldn't find a single cat out there." he said. Echosong realized that her leader had sent the cat out to find her.

"It's alright, Ravenpaw. She found us." Billystorm said, gesturing with his tail towards Echosong. Ravenpaw swung his head around and stared at her thoughtfully.

"Greetings, I am Ravenpaw. You must be Echosong." said the black tom. He moved away from the entrance and a big black and white cat, slightly plump in the middle, came through. "This is Barley. Welcome to our barn." Ravenpaw turned to Leafstar and spoke directly to her. "Feel free to hunt. We have more than enough mice. You'll be staying the night right? A friend of Firestar is a friend of mine." he said. Echosong could tell that his offer was genuine.

"Thank you, Ravenpaw. Barley. I believe we will stay the night. But we must leave early tomorrow morning. Could you point us in the direction of the mountains?" Leafstar said. She sounded a little bewildered by the cats' generosity.

"After all your clan has been through, of course." Barley answered with a deep meow. Leafstar nodded her thanks and turned to Echosong.

"You go straight to sleep. I'll have an apprentice bring you a mouse." Leafstar told her. Echosong was about to protest that she needed to check the clan for injuries but Leafstar waved her off. "Frecklewish already took care of that. Now rest, my brave medicine cat."

Echosong quickly fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. She only awoke because she felt something tickle her nose and smelt the scent of freshly caught mouse.

She sat up groggily and licked her lips. Then she stretched. She looked down, and in between her paws was the fattest mouse she had ever seen. She ate it quickly, and then gave herself a wash. She looked out the hole that the cats used as an entrance and noticed it was still dark out. She fell back asleep.

This time, she dreamt. She dreamed that she was walking on the edge of a deep chasm. She looked around and saw that she was alone, except for a hairless cat with white, bulging eyes. It was a tom, and he was coming straight towards her.

"Greetings, Echosong. I am Rock. I know all that has happened, is happening and is to happen. You are a very brave cat. I only know of four braver than yourself; the Jay, the Lion, the Dove and the Fire. Do not worry, young one. Your clan will make it here, all of you. Now, go in peace Echo of the past. Your destiny shall come soon." Rock touched his muzzle to her head and Echosong fell back into a dreamless sleep.

She woke up the next morning to Billystorm shaking her shoulder. "C'mon." he said. "Leafstar says it's time we go." he started walking off to wake the apprentices up. Echosong stretched.

"Good morning Echosong." she nearly jumped out of her fur when she heard Ravenpaw's voice behind her. She turned to see his whiskers twitching with amusement. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay Ravenpaw. I was just too absorbed on my thoughts to notice your approach." Echoing replied, trying to slow her racing heartbeat.

"Even so, I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you that you reminded me of someone. A cat who died the night Firestar and Graystripe helped me escape from my mentor. Do you know who that cat is?" he asked her. Echosong shook her head. "It was ThunderClan's medicine cat, Spottedleaf. She was murdered by Clawface, an evil ShadowClan warrior, while she was trying to stop him from leaving our camp with the kits he had stolen. She was brave and she looked just like you." he said. Echosong was surprised to be compared to such a wondeful, extraordinary cat. She nodded her thanks and said softly "You and Barley could come with us."

"I'm afraid we couldn't. We haven't fought for many, many moons. Besides, I'm not sure Barley could leave the barn, and I can't leave him here alone. We'll tell you where to go from here, but then you're on your own." Ravenpaw replied, looking at her apologetically. She nodded her understanding.

"Let's go." Leafstar meowed by the entrance. The clan gathered behind her as she led the way out. Ravenpaw slipped away to front to bring SkyClan in the right direction. He stopped on top of a big pile of rocks and turned to face the clan.

"You see the grey smudge in the distance?" he asked. Most of the clan nodded and he continued. "Those are the mountains. Just keep traveling in their direction and you should reach them within a few sunrises. StarClan be with you." he said and moved of to the side to allow for the clan to pass. As she walked by him, he said "Echosong, could you please say hello to Firestar, Graystripe and Sandstorm for me?" he asked. She nodded, even though she didn't know who Graystripe or Sandstorm were. Echosong turned back to the front, took Flamekit from Cherrytail and kept walking in the direction the barn cat had pointed the clan in.

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**A/N: that's it for chapter seven! Next chapter SkyClan reaches the mountains! Yay! I'm sorry if the story is moving slowly, but I don't want to rush it. I hope you enjoyed chapter seven. Please review! oh, and feel free to ask questions!**

**Please review! Thanks guys :D**

**Jay~**


	8. The Tribe of Rushing Water

**A/N: Chapter 8 is in the house! Haha. This is probably going to be my last chapter for a while since I leave for camp in 2 days and I won't get back until the 3****rd**** of August. And then on the 11****th**** of August, I leave to go on vacation with my dad in North Carolina for a week! YAY! **

**Thanks to my anonymous reviewer and Meta-If for correcting me on my spelling and for finding the mistake where I called Cloudstar Cloudtail.**

**Also thanks to Fruitloops25, Meta-If and my anonymous reviewer for reviewing.**

**Thank you to Cinwan, and any others who added me to their alerts/favorites. (If I missed you please PM me and I'll add a thanks to you in here)**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: I own Sandstorm, and Firestar, and Echosong and Jayfeather!**

**Tigerstar: Ha! Yeah, right. You could never own something that has awesome me in it!**

**Me: Ah yeah I could. **

**Tigerstar: *bites me***

**Me: OW! Okay! Okay! I don't own warriors!**

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Echosong glanced back over her shoulder as the clan left the old territory of the clan. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even realize that Leafstar had stopped the clan until she walked into Tangle. The old tom turned around and huffed angrily at her.

"Watch where you're going!" She put the kit she was carrying down to apologize.

"S-s-sorry Tangle. I wasn't looking at where I was going." Echosong meowed sheepishly, bowing her head. He huffed again before turning back to the front.

"We will stop here to take a short rest. Shapclaw will organize two patrols to go hunting. If any cat has any wounds, see Echosong and Frecklewish. As soon as every cat has rested, we will continue on our way to the mountains." Leafstar meowed.

"So, what herbs do you need?" Frecklewish meowed excitedly, making Echosong jump.

"Frecklewish! Don't do that! You nearly made me jump out of my fur!" She scolded trying to catch her breath. "I'm sorry. We will need dock leaves and some juniper berries."

"Why will we need juniper? No cat has a bellyache or trouble breathing." Frecklewish said, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

Sighing, Echosong answered. "Because, Frecklewish, juniper also gives cats strength. We need to give some to the elders, kits and queens before we continue on our journey." Frecklewish nodded in understanding and ran off, promising to bring back as many berries as she could find. Not long after, Lichenfur came over to her.

"Hello Lichenfur. What can I do for you?" she asked the elder.

"Oh, not much. My pads are just sore. Would you take a look at them?" the elder she-cat asked.

"Of course. I'll look at them as soon as Frecklewish comes back with the dock leaves." As soon as she said this, her young and energetic apprentice returned, her mouth overflowing with green dock leaves.

"Is this enough?" she asked, setting the leaves down at her mentor's paws.

"Yes, it is probably more than enough, but it's good. This way we'll be able to bring some with us. Now go and get those juniper berries." Echosong said, proud of how well her apprentice was doing. Turning to Lichenfur, she took a dock leaf and told the older she-cat to rub her paws on them.

Echosong had treated all the cats with sore paws and Frecklewish had given some juniper berries to the queens, kits and elders, so she decided to close her eyes and rest for a while.

When she opened her eyes, she wasn't surprised to find herself back on the rock ledge. She was surprised, however, that there was a starry cat standing on the ledge next to her.

"Beautiful night isn't it?" the cat said. Echosong realized it was a tom and the stars in his pelt must mean that he was an ancestor of the cats they would find in the mountains.

"It is. But why am I here? Who are you?" she asked. She hoped this dream wouldn't be as omniscient as the last dream she had that same ledge.

"Calm down, Echosong. I am Water That Falls on Rocks, an ancestor of the Tribe of Rushing Water. And you are here because you must see the way." The star covered tom said.

"See the way? What do you mean?" Echosong was quite confused now. How was she supposed to see the way? Only StarClan could see what was coming.

"You must see the way of those who came before you, for you are The Echo of The Past." Water said as he faded into the rocks.

Echosong awoke with a start, the last words of the tribe's ancestor running through her mind_ You must see the way of those who came before you, for you are The Echo of The Past. _If she was the Echo of the past, how could she see the way _before_ her? She shook her head and sat up. She saw that most of the clan was already up, so she shook out her fur and stretched, before joining the rest of the clan.

"We will be traveling all day today. We will not be stopping until it is dark. I had a dream last night, and we must reach the mountain cats within the next two sunrises, or else there will be a loss among us. Now, go eat and see Echosong about any sore pads." Leafstar meowed.

Soon after, the clan was on their way once again. The day of travel was relatively easy, they didn't see any twolegs and they only had to cross one thunderpath. But, even with the ease of their travel, Echosong still felt edgy. She sensed that some kind of danger was approaching. Her sense of dread only increased the closer they got to the mountains.

On the morning of the second sunrise, Echosong woke with a feeling of fear in her heart as the clan climbed the rocky ledges of the mountain. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them, something big.

At sunhigh, while the clan had stopped for a short rest, Echosong swore she saw a shadow of a cat on one of the rock walls. But there was something wrong with the shadow; it was far too big to belong to a cat.

As the day passed, Echosong drifted to the back of the clan. She couldn't explain why, only that it felt right for her to be there. She slowed and watched the cats of her beloved clan walk away in front of her. She kept up a slow pace and followed three tail lengths behind the last cat.

A short while later, Echosong heard a growl above her; a low, deep growl that sounded different from that of a normal cat. She looked up at the ledge above her and saw a huge cat. It had tawny coloured fur and round ears. It looked like the how the cats of LionClan where described, except without a mane. She realized with terror that the large cat was stalking her.

Echosong didn't know what to do. There was a huge cat hunting her. She couldn't catch up with her clan, because then the cat might hunt them to. And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the lion without a mane disappeared.

Panting, she ran to catch up to the clan. They were walking along the rock ledge Echosong had seen in her dreams twice now. She looked around and saw that starry cats were sitting all around the clan, as if granting them safe passage into the tribe's territory. Echosong saw Water That Falls on Rocks and he nodded at her. She blinked, and the ledge went back to normal, the starry ancestors of the tribe no longer watching.

The clan walked on and soon left the ledge behind, to emerge into a rocky landscape with a few small bushes scattered around the clearing. Then, out of nowhere, the clan was surrounded by cats covered in mud. One of them, bigger than the rest, stepped forward.

"Who is your leader and why are you here?" the cat said.

"I am Leafstar, SkyClan's leader. We are here because we were told to find a tribe of cats who live in these mountains." Leafstar answered defiantly.

"Very well. Follow us back to the Cave of Rushing Water where you shall meet the tribe." the cat said. Echosong could see that her leader did not trust them, but she knew, somehow, that they had to follow the strange cats.

"Leafstar, we can trust them. We must follow them." She told her leader. Leafstar nodded and waved her tail at the mud covered cats, signaling that they should lead the way.

The clan followed the cats over the rocky landscape. They were led over rock piles and under ledges, until they reached a waterfall. Echosong didn't see why they were led here, until the first cats disappeared behind the falling water. Her eyes widened in disbelief as Leafstar led the clan on and she saw where the cats must have gone. Behind the sheet of falling mountain water, there was a hole that led into a cave.

When they entered, Echosong gazed around and saw, with shock, that the tribe had enough cats to form an entire clan. She also saw that her clanmates were glancing around themselves nervously, as though not trusting the tribe cats. A long legged, muscular dark grey tom stepped towards the clan.

"Greetings. I am Cr-I mean the Stoneteller, or as you clan cats call them, leader of the Tribe of Rushing Water. You must be SkyClan, Jayfeather said you were coming. May I speak to your leader?" he said in a rush. Leafstar hesitated a second before responding.

"Greetings, Stoneteller. I am Leafstar, SkyClan's leader. Jayfeather said you were friends of theirs and that you could help us find the lake. Is that so?" she said, stepping towards Stoneteller, and away from the clan. She was soon joined by Billystorm.

"Yes, we are friends of the clans. And we will help you. Once your clan is full fed and rested, we will set off for the lake." Stoneteller meowed. Leafstar asked where the clan would be sleeping while they were in the tribe's home. Stoneteller nodded at three tribe cats and had them show the clan where they would sleep.

A lithe brown tabby she-cat introduced herself as Brook Where Small Fish Swim and said that she would show the queens and kits where they would be sleeping. A pale grey she-cat, smaller than a warrior would be, introduced herself as Pebble That Rolls Down Mountain and said she would show the to-be's to their nests. When the clan cats stared at her blankly, she corrected herself and said that she would show the apprentices, because clans don't use the word to-be. But when the third cat, the same cat who had led the clan to the cave, introduced himself, Billystorm started.

"Stormfur? Isn't that a clan name?" he said to the grey tom that was to show the warriors to their nests.

Sighing, the tom said "Yes, it is. I was from RiverClan, but on a journey from the old forest I lost my sister here. And then, later, when we brought the four clans, I decided to stay, since I fit in well here, better than in my own clan, and since I had fallen in love with Brook." Billystorm nodded and the warriors went off to their nests. Echosong stayed behind, not sure where she would stay, since she wasn't an apprentice, queen or a warrior. She decided she would ask Leafstar. She looked around and saw her leader walk over to Stoneteller.

"So, Stoneteller, Jayfeather told you we were coming?" she asked, sounding suspicious.

"Yes. He came to visit me in a dream. I don't know how, I swear he must have some kind of special ability." Leafstar nodded and said "Can you prove it?" Stoneteller thought for a moment before answering.

"How about I tell you that I know you're here because the twolegs are destroying your territory, which is by a gorge, on the other side of the other clans' old territory, and because Jayfeather convinced you that the only way any of the clans would survive the Dark Forest is if you joined them." Leafstar's mouth, as well as Echosong's, gapped open and Leafstar nodded.

"I believe we can trust you. Jayfeather is the only one outside of SkyClan that knows this." Stoneteller nodded and told her to tell the clan to eat and rest, and that every cat would be leaving in two sunrises.

Leafstar turned and walked over to the tunnel where Stormfur had led the warriors. Echosong ran over to her to ask where she should stay.

"I don't know. Ask Stoneteller and tell him you are our medicine cat." She answered before walking into the tunnel.

Echosong sighed and padded over to the muscular dark grey tom in the center of the cave.

"Hello Stoneteller. I am Echosong, the medicine cat of SkyClan. I was wondering where I should stay, since I am not a queen, apprentice or warrior." She told him.

"Ah, yes. I forgot that clans have a leader as well as a medicine cat. How about you stay with me in the Cave of Pointed Stones?" Stoneteller asked her, nodding to the tunnel behind him.

"I would like that. Thank you." Echosong answered, dipping her head with both gratitude and respect. Stoneteller led her into the cave and showed her to the small dip in the ground she would use as a nest. Nodding her thanks once again, she curled up in her borrowed nest and had a sweet and peaceful dreamless sleep.

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**A/N: Hope you guys all liked this chapter and review *hint, hint* ;) If you find anything wrong in the chapter, or have any questions, please feel free to leave them in your reviews or to PM me. **

**Oh and check out my stories and stuff on FictionPress!**

**Thanks for reading,**

**Jay~**


	9. The Beginning of Her Destiny

**A/N: OMG! I'm so sorry! I left for camp a few days after posting that last chapter. I was going to write a few chapters there, but I didn't have time. We had six tests in three weeks! And now you're all thinking 'What kind of camp has tests? :S'. Well, I'm in air cadets and we have lots of summer camps. I went on a camp called 'Advanced Aviation Course' which is a course that you would take before going on glider. So basically you learn a lot about aviation and have tests on the different aspects. Anyone ever have any questions about aviation, ask away. Okay, so after I got back from camp, I was home for a day (which I spent sleeping.. :P) and then I left with my bro and my dad for a two day drive down to North Carolina. An then I had writer's block and school jut started and some teachers think it's fun to pile on homework on the first two days of school. **

**Disclaimer: I had a bad dream. It was about how I don't own Warriors. And then I woke up and found out it was true! D:**

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Well, Echosong _thought _she was having a dreamless sleep. That was, until a sudden green tinted light suddenly blazed in her eyes. When she looked around, she found that she was inside a small opening in a rock. There were herbs strewn all over the ground. She was confused as to where she was. Could this be SkyClan's new territory by the lake?

A high pitched wail interrupted her thoughts. An unfamiliar she-cat's voice screamed "My kits! Where are my kits?" Echosong quickly ran out of the rock only to collide with a big brown cat. She was about to apologize, when she saw the two tiny kits dangling from the tom's mouth. Instantly, she knew they were the kits the she-cat was missing, and she also knew this cat in front of her was not from their clan. So she did the only thing she could think of to try and stop him, she attacked. She slashed at his nose, hoping he would hiss and be heard, or at least drop the kits. He didn't do either. The tom simply moved to the side and quick as lighting hit her on the head with a heavy paw.

Echosong shook her head dizzily. She lifted a paw to swipe at his flank, but as soon as it left the ground, she pitched forward. Stumbling, she tried in vain to regain her balance. She wasn't quick enough, because the next thing she knew, the brown tom slashed her throat open and watched as she fell to the ground, powerless. Echosong took one last swipe at him and caught a tuft of his fur. Then, the tom ran away with the she-cat's kits, and then her vision went black and her eyes closed as her life flowed out of her and into a pool of blood around her.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the Cave of Pointed Stones. But instead of Stoneteller being in the dip in the ground next to her, she was alone. She assumed it was morning and that Stoneteller had decided to let her keep sleeping.

She got out of her dip in the ground and walked out into the main cave. What she saw was terrifying. The entire tribe was cowering against the wall. In the center stood five cats. She recognized one of them as Stormfur and another looked almost like Firestar, just smaller. There was also a huge tabby with broad shoulders and long legs, a dark grey- a grey so dark it was nearly black-cat that was thin and looked like it would be a swift runner. There was also a tawny coloured cat. It was smaller than Stormfur and the big tabby, but bigger than the other two cats. Echosong didn't know why, but she instinctively walked over to join the group in the center.

When she did, she got a nod from Stormfur and a lick on the ear from the grey cat. She could know tell by scent that there were two she-cats, the tawny coloured cat and Firestar's look-a-like. The big tabby and small grey cat were toms.

In front of the group stood the big cat Echosong had sworn she'd seen earlier; the lion without a mane. She looked to Stormfur and he gave a nod that they should attack. He leapt at the almost-lion's tail. The tabby ran at the left flank. The tawny and Ginger she-cats took the right flank. The lion without a mane ignored them and swiped at Echosong. She took a step back and jumped up onto a ledge. She was a medicine cat after all; she couldn't possibly fight this thing. That's what she kept telling herself as the fight raged on.

But when the grey tom backed into a narrow crevice that was obviously too small to offer much protection, Echosong felt an unquenchable surge of anger towards the giant cat attacking them. She jumped into the air above it and gripped a stalactite. Still holding onto the piece of rock, she plummeted towards the trespassing cat. The sharp point of the rock impaled itself in the almost-lion and Echosong hit the ground beside it, hard. She felt her life force fade away quickly.

When she was able to open her eyes again, she was back on the ledge she'd seen so many times before in her dreams. In front of her, unsurprisingly, stood the hairless form of none other than Rock. He swung his unseeing, bulging white eyes in her direction and spoke.

"Greetings, Echosong. You have now relived two of the bravest, most respected she-cats' final moments in this life. You truly are becoming the Echo of The Past. Go in peace and may the stars be with you." He said before suddenly vanishing. Echosong looked around herself. She was tired and confused, plus her body ached all over. Her throat, which had been sliced open in her first dream that night, burned as if she really had been injured. Plus, every bone in her body, bones which had most certainly been shattered when she collided with the cave floor, felt like they had been seared back together. Actually, that's what it felt like; it was like her whole body was on fire.

"What is that supposed to mean? How can the past be echoed? Why are my dreams making me ache all over? What is going on?" she asked, looking at the stars. She knew it was pointless, the ancestors of both the clans and the tribe refused to give a straight answer. And they only answered when they felt it was absolutely necessary. Meaning, usually right before the entire clan will get killed. When Echosong got no answer, she sighed and shook her head. She walked back to the cave with her head down. She kicked pebbles off the edge of the cliff, all the while thinking about the answers to her questions. Was there even an answer? She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. Instead, she turned her thoughts to the other clans. Jayfeather in particular. His sudden appearances, in both her dreams and near death experiences, had to mean something. Did he have some kind of special power? Echosong had never met any other living cats in StarClan's hunting grounds before. She had also never heard of a cat having visions of the near future. And then another question popped into her head: How had he even known how to get from SkyClan's territory to the mountains? How had he known where Ravenpaw lived? According to both Ravenpaw and Stoneteller, he was way too young to have been on the journey of the clans from their old territory to their new territory. So there was no way he could have given her directions as accurately as he had. And Firestar and Sandstorm had said that they wouldn't tell the clans about SkyClan, because they didn't want the old leaders to be viewed with any less respect than what they died with. And StarClan wouldn't mention the fifth clan because they were too ashamed of forcing the clan out of their home. So that left one answer: Jayfeather had a special power. It was the only explanation.

"You're right Echosong." A voice said behind her. Startled, Echosong jumped and spun around. Behind her stood a light silver grey tabby she-cat with clear, blue eyes, and a plumy tail.

"Who are you?" Echosong asked the she-cat.

"I am Feathertail. You relived my death in your last dream." She answered. Echosong started. She had relived this young she-cat's death? She suddenly felt very honored to be talking to Feathertail. She was a noble and loyal cat. "Jayfeather does have a special power, but you'll have to wait until you meet him in person to find out for sure." And just like that, Feathertail disappeared, leaving Echosong alone once again.

Sighing, Echosong continued on her return trip. She didn't have far to go and was soon in front of the waterfall that shielded the cave. She lay down next to the pool at its base and shut her eyes. She quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, she awoke back in the dip in the ground she now called her nest. She sat up and stretched. Her body was still aching and her muscles were extremely stiff, her pelt dusty and matted. So the dreams had actually happened, she hadn't imagined them at all.

After Echosong was satisfied that she was clean, she walked into the main cave and grabbed a rabbit off the top of the fresh-kill pile. After moons of living off of barely enough food to keep anycat going, the rabbit would feed three full grown cats. She waved her tail at her apprentice and Brook and they came over to see her.

"Would you like to share this with me? It's far too big for me to eat on my own." The two she-cats nodded and they took turns taking one bite at a time until the rabbit was gone.

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**A/N: I know, I know. Crappy ending to the chapter. Oh well. Hopefully I'll be able to update soon. Thanks again to those of you who reviewed last chapter. **

**Jay~**

**P.S.: If you like Percy Jackson, please read my story How Could This Be? Thanks guys! Love you! **


	10. The Third Vision

**A/N: Oh my gosh guys. I am so sorry. I would have updated sooner, but not long after I posted the last chapter my internet died. Like literally died. It didn't start working again until earlier today. I'm going to post all the chapters I wrote while waiting for the Internet to work again one after the other. So you guys should get about 4 or five new chapters (including this one) all in the next few days. Again guys, I'm so sorry. **

**Disclaimer: Hey there! For Christmas, I got the rights to the warriors books! Jk. I didn't. Jeez, I don't have that kind of money ;)**

**Edit: Just dooing the same thing... :3 fixing stuff that I should've caught earlier...**

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_The Third Vision_

When Echosong finished her share of the rabbit, she decided she'd go for a walk. Maybe find some herbs and give them to Stoneteller to thank him for sheltering the clan. Or, she would find some herbs and treat the injuries of both tribe and clan cats. She might just go out for a walk to stretch her legs. Whatever she did, she _was_ going to leave the cave. After being inside for nearly a day, she needed – desperately needed – to get some fresh air.

She walked away from where she sat with the two she-cats and headed towards the entrance. Yesterday, as they entered the cave, Echosong had noticed that they had passed behind a waterfall. She had noticed that it concealed the entrance to the cave perfectly. But that it also made the rock ledge passing behind it extremely slippery. So, remembering this, she stepped carefully out of the entrance and continued with her cautious steps until she had reached dry rock. Then, she walked around the cold pool of water at the bottom of the slope of tumbling water. In a crevice near the water's edge she saw something. Something green and leafy.

Echosong walked closer and closer to the plant, so that she would be able to identify what it was. It looked like dock, but she thought they wouldn't have any of that in the mountains. Skeptical, she bent down and touched her nose to the leaves so that she could smell them. Their scent confirmed what her eyes had seen. The green plant was indeed dock. Echosong was about to gather the leaves when she remembered that her walk had barely even started. She wouldn't be able to carry the leaves around with her on the whole walk. And she didn't want to bring them back to the tribe now, in case she was asked to stay inside the cave.

Sighing in frustration, she was about to walk away when it came to her. Stretching out her claws, she scratched three deep gouges into the earth to mark where the dock was.

Satisfied that she – or any other cat – would notice the scratches and then notice the dock, she walked away from the cave.

Echosong was walking along the edge of ravine, gazing into the small river flowing in the shape of a snake. She barely noticed when the rocks on her left and the sharp drop to her right turned into towering oaks, maples and pines. The rocks under her feet became soft, lushes grass and finally she looked up.

For a moment, all she could do was stare in confusion at the scene that was around her. Green trees grew around her and cats with the scent of Firestar's clan walked beside her. One of them, a tall pure white tom, had his tail on her shoulder.

Had she fallen asleep? It was the only explanation that made sense. And yet, Echosong felt that she was very awake. How could this be?

Suddenly, a thought popped into her head: What if Tigerstar attacked Fireheart before he could jump?

She spun around and took off in the opposite direction. She heard the cats around her yelling at her to stop, but she couldn't. She had this feeling that if she stopped running, something terrible would happen. So she kept running.

She ran past tree after tree, through a stream, jumped over logs. She kept up her fast pace until she came to a gorge.

At the bottom of the gorge there was a river, flowing swift and strong. The water was a foggy blue with whitecaps topping off the waves. As beautiful as it was, Echosong could not spare a moment to appreciate the beauty.

She veered left and kept running.

She saw a blotchy shape in the distance. As she got closer, the shape became clearer. It was a cat. No – it was two cats. One was being pinned by the other. The one on top was a huge, dark tabby tom. The other was a fiery orange colour and smaller in size.

She sped up.

Suddenly, she saw the tabby jump off the smaller tom and run up a tree. The fire coloured cat didn't even take a moment to catch his breath. He turned back towards the gorge and ran.

But it was too late. The next thing Echosong knew, a dog – a big, salivating, mangy dog – held him by the scruff of his neck.

Without thinking, Echosong took off and head-butted the dog in his side. He dropped the now confused tom and staggered towards the cliff face. Echosong turned around and was about to go check on the orange cat she had just saved when something heavy grabbed her from behind.

That mangy dog! He had snagged his rough, uneven claws into her pelt. She didn't even have time to process this before she was falling. The dog had dragged her over the edge of the cliff.

"Bluestar, no!" Echosong heard some cat yell. She looked up to see who it was, but before she could, she hit the water and her head went under. The dog's teeth were yanked out of her pelt, and the swift movement of the current threw her against rocks.

Echosong looked desperately around, trying to find the surface, but it was no use. She couldn't tell up from down, left from right. Her lungs were screaming uselessly for air and she came to one sure conclusion: she was going to drown. She would die here; in the bottom of a gorge with a current moving so fast she couldn't see anything and her body would never be found.

Suddenly, her head broke the surface. She glanced around and notices that the orange cat she'd seen earlier was running along the edge of the gorge, trying to find a safe place to jump from. She tried shouting at him to stay where he was, but as soon as she opened her mouth, a wave of water filled it. She started retching and coughing. She saw the decision on the flame coloured tom's face. He was going to jump, and nothing any cat could say would stop him.

Echosong's head went under the waves again and she hoped - desperately hoped - that the fire coloured tom had not yet jumped.

Then, suddenly, she felt teeth – cat's teeth this time, not that mangy dog - grab her by the scruff of her neck. The cat heaved her upwards and her head crashed out of the water.

She gasped and took in the biggest breath she'd ever taken. She turned her head to look at her saviour, and with a jolt she realized that she recognized him. It was Firestar - a younger version, yes, but definitely him. Why had she thought of him as Fireheart earlier?

She met his eyes and saw the worry in them. It was intense worry; like a kit worries about his mother the first time she leaves him alone in the nursery. Firestar hadn't known Echosong well enough to worry about her that much, so that could only mean one thing: this was another memory of a she-cat's death.

Echosong was jolted out of her thoughts by heavy panting. She glanced back up at the swimming cat that was carrying both her weight and his. He looked exhausted. She realized that unless she helped him by swimming on her own, they'd _both_ drown. So she started paddling.

She quickly realized she couldn't keep it up long and that they were still too far from the shore to make it. She looked back to the young tom helping her.

"Fireheart," she said sadly. "You have to let me go." He looked at her with disbelief.

"Bluestar, I can't let you die. I _will_ save the both of us."

"No. You'll never make it supporting the both of us. Let go of me. I'll swim as long as I can, but if I don't make it; you can't come back to save. You're too young to die." She told him mournfully. But he didn't listen. His mouth set in a firm line and sheer determination shone in his eyes. He would not let her go.

Desperately, the two cats swam faster; trying to get to the shore that seemed so impossibly far. They both knew they wouldn't make it, yet they felt that had to try.

Just as the last of Echosong's energy left her, two gray streaks came pelting towards them. Two cats, RiverClan Echosong somehow knew, came up to the two struggling cats, one on either side. They each grabbed Echosong's scruff, and one grunted at Fireheart to swim to the shore. The flame coloured cat nodded and continued with renewed energy towards land.

Echosong turned her head to look at her new saviours and she knew who they were - not she, exactly, but the cat who's death she was reliving knew them. They were her kits – Mistyfoot and Stonefur. She quickly glanced away before she said something that would upset them.

They climbed up the muddy shore and placed Echosong on the ground. She took in quick shallow breaths and realized that now was the time to tell them – all of them, even Fireheart – _everything_. She took a deep breath and started by thanking the two RiverClan warriors. She then told them of how she had met their father – Oakheart –how they had become good friends. She told them about the secret meetings and of how she had had to give them over to RiverClan because they would have starved in ThunderClan.

Vaguely, in the background, she heard a cat tackle another to the ground, but she ignored it. She focused solely on the three cats in front of her. She told her kits of her proud she had been when they first became apprentices and then warriors. She told them of how happy she was that they finally knew their true mother. They each licked her forehead and she purred.

Then, Echosong flickered her gaze to Fireheart. He was looking to the ground, sadness evident in his deep green eyes.

"Fireheart," she started, "you are, by far, the best deputy I could have asked for. Thank you for your constant loyalty. I am as proud of you as I am of my own kits. I can't think of a better cat to lead ThunderClan." At the end of her little speech, Fireheart looked mournfully at Echosong.

"Bluestar. You aren't going to die. You – you can't die. At least not yet. I'm not ready to lead the Clan. You must come back with us." He said sadly. Echosong looked at him with sympathy.

"You will make a great leader." She told him. She rested her head on the ground and looked at the trees. A cat she hasn't seen for many moons was standing there.

"Oakheart?" She said. The tom nodded. She smiled. "I'm ready."

Oakheart came towards her and touched his nose to hers. Everything before her went back as she felt her spirit leave he body.

When colour returned to the world, Echosong was back on the cliff she recognized only too well. The cat she knew as Rock came forward and bowed his head.

"Your third vision is now complete. You have two left and then your spirit will be complete. The five bravest she cats that ever lived will have been combined into one to combat the evil of Tigerstar." By the end, his form had disappeared and the cliff face had turned into the rocky ledge Echosong had been walking along earlier.

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**A/N: Well, that's chapter ten complete. I'm thinking about five to ten more chapters until the end of the story. Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed, followed and favourited. Thank you to everyone who's still sticking by this story even though I take so long to update. :) I love you guys! **

**Jay~**

**P.S.: If you read my PJO story, I'm sorry but you'll have to wait a little while longer. I don't actually have my own copy of the books so I was using the Internet to get the parts of out of the books :3 So, because of my Internet issue, I haven't finished the chapters for that story yet. I'll try to post at least two before the holidays are over.**


	11. The Last Revelation of The Past

**A/N: See! I told you guys I'd add another chapter within a day ;) Thanks to all of you that reviewed, followed bad favourited. It's good to see that people still read this :D**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own the warriors series.**

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_The Last Revelation of the Past_

Wearily, Echosong walked back towards the cave that the Tribe called home. She passed the claw marks she had made earlier – it felt like it had been years since she'd marked the spot. She picked the dock leaves and headed back up the slope and behind the waterfall.

With the leaves in her mouth, she padded over to the Cave of Pointed Stones. She stopped just outside and gently dropped her load. She called out a greeting to Stoneteller.

"Ah, hello Echosong. I have been expecting you." He said from inside the cave. Confused and slightly afraid, Echosong picked up the herbs and headed over to where Stoneteller was gazing into a puddle.

"I – I brought you some herbs," she said. Without even looking up, the brown tom gestured to the far wall with his tail. Echosong quickly walked over and added the dock to a small pile of the same leaves. She ran back to Stoneteller.

"Echosong, I want you to look into this Pool of Gathered Moonlight and tell me what you see." The tom said. Echosong quickly scuttled around beside him until she could clearly look into the puddle.

At first, all she saw was a reflection of herself. Then images of the Clan's recent past flashed before her eyes. Then, images she didn't recognize flitted before her eyes. Cats she didn't know fighting each other in the mountains, cats fighting strange brown creatures on logs of wood that blocked the flow of water. Suddenly, the images slowed down.

She saw black and white animals – badgers – all walking towards bramble bushes. The image zoomed in on the bushes and Echosong gasped. It was the entrance to a camp!

As soon as she let out the gasp, Echosong's vision faded. When it cleared, she was inside a camp. She was limping quickly towards the nursery, raspberry leaves clamped in her jaw. She pushed her way into the nursery just as a crashing sound echoed throughout the clearing. The badgers had arrived.

Echosong slithered her way over to the queen that was kitting. Sorreltail wasn't supposed to kit for another two moonhighs! Echosong examined how the queen was doing and decided that she would probably need poppy seeds and she would definitely be in need of moss soaked in water.

"Brakenfur!" She called out. "I need you to get Sorreltail some poppy seeds – they are just outside the crack in the rock wall of my den – and, I need you to get some moss and soak it in water."

"Cinderpelt, I'm sorry, but I can't do that right now. The badgers – they have entered camp. I must do my duty as a warrior and fight to protect the camp." Echosong closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Of course she would be worried. It didn't matter how many battles her brother faced, she was always so scared for him.

"That's fine. But, be safe. You must survive this." She told him, touching her nose to his.

"I will," he whispered before taking off to protect the clan. Echosong looked around the nursery and spotted Ferncloud in the corner, trying to stay out of the medicine cat's way.

"Ferncloud, can you get what I need?" Echosong asked her. The older queen nodded and took off towards the medicine den to gather the necessary supplies. She took another deep breath and turned back to the kitting queen.

"Okay, Sorreltail. You'll be fine. Just stay calm and take deep breaths." She said softly to the queen. She turned to the raspberry leaves for a moment and chewed them up. Then she placed them in front of Sorreltail's mouth. "Eat these, they will give you strength. That's it. Finish them all."

She kept watch over the queen, reassuring her, helping her, for what felt like hours. And then finally, it was time.

"Okay, Sorreltail. The kits are coming now. Just take deep breaths and you'll be done soon enough."

Echosong placed her paws on the queen's stomach and pressed and massaged while the first convulsions started. A small bundle popped out. Echosong quickly grabbed it and passed it to Daisy.

"Nip the sack and lick the fur the wrong way." She said. She did the same until the second bundle popped out. She passed that one to Ferncloud; who had just returned with the poppy seeds and water.

"One more, and that's it."

Suddenly, the bramble thicket that made the nursery made a strange crackling sound. Echosong whirled around and let out a strangled gasp. There, standing in the broken entrance to the nursery was a huge black and white badger.

"Ferncloud! Daisy! Help Sorreltail deliver the last kit and keep every cat back." She told the other queens.

Echosong took up a battle stance she had learned many moons ago, back when she was Firestar's apprentice. She crouched down and hissed at the badger. She _would_ protect the kits and the queens.

She leapt forward and darted around to the side of the beast. She attacked with her claws out stretched and took a big chunk out of the badger's side. The creature roared in outrage and spun around. It swatted at Cinderpelt with a heavy paw and she jumped out of the way. But she was too slow, her old injury preventing her from being fast enough. The paw hit her in the head and sent her flying to the ground. She hit the soil of the nursery hard and her head cracked against the ground. Her vision splintered and her head exploded with pain. She tried to stand, but she could not find the strength. Her eyes closed on the world and her vision went black.

Suddenly, her vision returned and she found herself looking into the puddle in the Cave of Pointed Stones once more.

She looked around, surprised at the suddenness of her return to the present time and place. Beside her, Stoneteller stood there, an amused smirk on his face. Echosong was thoroughly confused when she saw his expression.

"What? What have I done?" She asked him. He didn't say anything, just turned back to the puddle. She continued looking at Stoneteller confusedly, not understanding at all why he kept looking at her with a smug expression on his face.

"My dear Echosong, you have a heavy destiny before you. Having to relive the death of five of the bravest cats ever to have walked this earth – that alone is a very difficult task. But, I know you can handle it. There was once a prophecy – a very old prophecy, passed from Stoneteller to Stoneteller. It talked of a courageous young she-cat destined for great things. It was said that she had the courage of lions, the loyalty leopards, the protectiveness of tigers and the love of a mother for her kit. The prophecy said that this she-cat was the world's only hope. Only once she had found her true purpose would the good be able to conquer the evil of the world for good." He paused and looked at the medicine cat sitting by his side, her eyes questioning. "Yes, Echosong, this she-cat talked about in the ancient prophecy is you. You unite the world's best qualities and embody them to their fullest potential. This is your destiny; this is why Firestar had to bring SkyClan back, why you were chosen to be the medicine cat and why Jayfeather had to ask you to aid the clans. You are our only hope."

"Our? What do you mean _our_? What does the problem of the Dark Forest have to do with the Tribe?" Echosong asked, still not quite registering the revelations Stoneteller had just given her.

"I say our only hope because as soon as the clans have been conquered, Tigerstar will come after us. The best chance we have is if we all – the clans and the tribe – come together to fight this evil as one." He answered her, looking deep into her eyes – as if he was seeing into her soul – an almost _hopeful_ look on his face.

"But why me? Why would the ancient ancestors of the clans and the tribes choose me, an ignorant _kittypet_ to be the last hope to defeating the evil? Why wouldn't they chose someone who can inspire courage, love and compassion in others – someone who can rebuild an entire clan; a clan that had been gone for ages – someone, someone like Firestar? Why would they turn to me?" Echosong asked hysterically, not able to see the most important qualities within herself.

"My dear," Stoneteller said gently, "we all doubt ourselves in our most obvious talents. We are all blind to what we do best, blind to our greatest potentials. All you have to do is open your eyes to what you have inside. All you have to do is believe that you can do it, that you are able to complete what destiny has in store for you, and then you will be able to accomplish anything." As he finished his speech, he turned away from the puddle and laid his tail on Echosong's shoulder for a minute before walking out of the sacred cave. Echosong looked back at the puddle – no the Pool of Gathered Moonlight – with one thought in mind: _Tell me why I am the right cat._

_사랑_

The medicine cat sat looking into the pool for hours. Eventually, she finally got her answer – in the form of another vision of course.

This time, however, it wasn't a vision of another cat's death, but a vision of her own death – well, what her death would have been if it weren't for Jayfeather and his vision of the future.

She was, once again, waiting for the whole of her clan to make it across the small expanse of open space between one bush and the last before they reached the freedom beyond. She saw Sparrowpelt sprain his paw, she argued with Leafstar about who would go to help him, she ran out and clawed at the attacking twoleg, felt her life being squeezed out of her body. She relived what could easily have been her final moments. Then, suddenly, she was standing on the top of a ridge, looking down at a lake that reflected the beautiful expanse of glowing stars in the sky. Beside her, sat not Rock or Feathertail, as she had expected but a living cat; Jayfeather to be exact. He turned to look at her with his bright blue eyes.

"You wondered why you were the cat – the only cat – able to do what destiny has asked of you, am I correct?" He asked her.

"Y – Yes. I was wondering that. But how –" Jayfeather interrupted her before she could finish the question.

"How I know, it's not relevant. At least, not yet. But the reason you were chosen to complete the challenge of being the final hope for the side of good is because of the way you sacrificed yourself for your clanmate. I know what you're thinking, all the she-cats' deaths you have relived, they all sacrificed their lives for their clans', the difference is that they had didn't have a choice. That was their destiny – it was their time to move into StarClan's hunting grounds. But when you did it, you _had_ a choice. You could have let Leafstar go, but you didn't. You chose to save your clanmate, even though you are but a medicine cat and any of the warriors would have been better suited to do that. _That_ is why you were chosen. You are willing to give anything and everything for the safety and comfort of those around you. That is true courage, true loyalty, true protectiveness, true love and _true_ compassion. _You_, Echosong, are the light in this darkest of times." He told her and she couldn't help but wonder how such a young cat could be so wise, he had said exactly what she needed to hear, when she needed to hear it.

"Thank you, Jayfeather. That is all I needed to hear and learn. I will never forget these words." She told him and nuzzled his cheek just to show an extra amount of thanks. Then, she stepped away and turned towards the forest standing behind them. When she turned to look back at the small grey tabby, he was gone. Slowly, the world of trees and stars on a lake faded away into a dark cave and Echosong grew tired. She rested her head on her paws and shut her eyes just as the cave came fully into focus. The last thing she heard before falling into a dreamless sleep was _Rest now, Echosong. Close your eyes and sleep, you need it to accomplish all that you have to. You shall have no dreams tonight, I swear_.

Strangely enough, it was said in the voice of all the cats whose deaths she had relived.

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**A/N: There you go! Chapter eleven is finished! **** Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, Joyeux Hivers! ;) I hope you all had a good day, and that you don't hate me all too much. I will try my best to update by New Years. Thank you all for reading and feel free to review, follow and favourite. I don't bite ;)**

**Love you guys**

**Jay~**


	12. Preparing For Some Special Guests

**A/N: Umm, hi guys... :3 Long time no see, eh? Sorry about that... Luckily for you guys though, you won't have to deal with waiting too much longer. Unfrotunately, this story only has about 3-4 chapters left. And honestly, I can't believe how far this has come. This story used to be a one-shot! Thank you so much for your support guys! :) **

**I'm going to finish the next few chapters and then post them once, maybe twice, a week. **

**Thank you guys again for everything!**

**Disclaimer: Since I am only 15 years old, I think it's safe to say I am _not_ Erin Hunter. Therefore, I unfortunately don't own the Warriors series or any of the characters.**

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_Preparing For the Arrival of Some Special Guests_

Jayfeather sighed tiredly. When they had returned from the gathering, Firestar had him explain to ThunderClan exactly what was going to happen in the near future. There had been cries of outrage from some of the warriors, *cough* Cloudtail *cough*, about having to not only do their warrior duties but also find a suitable location for SkyClan's camp, as well as making the dens and finding them herbs, and keeping extra prey in case both they and the Tribe arrived earlier than expected.

It had taken most of the night to convince the Clan that it was the only way they would survive the fight with the Dark Forest, but Jayfeather eventually managed it. The Clan finally accepted taking on extra duties.

As soon as he had completed that task, he had planned on getting some well-needed sleep; however, his Clan leader seemed to have a different idea on how the medicine cat was going to spend his night.

"Jayfeather, I want you to go to the moon pool. You need to talk with StarClan about what is going to happen. You must be certain they understand that they will have to permanently accept the ancestors of SkyClan into their ranks, and they will need to temporarily welcome and host the Tribe of Endless Hunting. I don't want both sides of our ancestry to be angry with us," Firestar told him, a sympathetic look on his face when he noticed the state of the exhausted medicine cat.

"Yes, Firestar," Jayfeather said tiredly before stretching and swiftly padding out of the stone clearing.

Jayfeather's trip to the Moonpool was quieter than normal, with not even the slightest hoot from an owl to stir the air. It was so quiet that the small medicine cat could hear the soft _swish_ the wind made blowing slowly through the blades of grass. He could even hear the quiet clatter the bugs made jumping from rock to rock on the mountain creek's shore. The lack of sound was almost omniscient, as if every single living creature was holding their breath, waiting for the inevitable battle that would ultimately decide their fates.

As soon as he arrived, Jayfeather lay down and gulped some of the cool, starry water, closed his eyes and opened his mind to StarClan.

"Well, if it isn't the flyspeck medicine cat," a gruff voice said. "What can we do for you tonight?"

"Yellowfang! You nearly scared me out of my fur!" Jayfeather all but shouted at her.

The older, and dead, medicine cat responded with a raspy laugh before saying, "It's not my fault I didn't know you were as skittish as you are small."

"That's beside the point. I came on behalf of Firestar," Jayfeather started, ignoring the matted grey she-cat's comments on his size. "He wants me to make sure you understand that the ancestors of SkyClan will be merging permanently with StarClan, and that—"

"While the Tribe is here, so will the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Yes, yes, all of StarClan knows this, even Mosskit," Yellowfang finished for him.

He was about to respond, saying something along the lines of, "You don't have to be so snappy," but just at that moment, his vision shifted from that of Yellowfang's flea-bitten face to a scene he never expected to see.

He was watching Echosong get choked by a twoleg. She was scratching, and writhing, and biting, fighting with all her might to be free, but the twoleg just held onto her tighter. She tried her hardest to flee, but she couldn't. Already, Jayfeather could see her eyelids slowly drooping, her breathing growing shallower. And then, she was limp and the vile twoleg threw her to the ground and walked away, not even caring that he had just stolen a life.

And then, as suddenly as the vision had come, it was gone and Jayfeather was in StarClan's hunting grounds once again, a ring of deceased, star-lit cats staring down at him with worry and confusion on their faces. All but one.

"Jayfeather!" Spottedleaf yelled. "Jayfeather, what did you see?"

And so Jayfeather explained it to her, how he had seen Echosong die.

"We must find her now, before she truly does join our ranks!" Spottedleaf said before running off. Jayfeather quickly scrambled to his paws and followed her, running as fast as he could.

~#~#~#~

In the end, they ended up making it just in time to save Echosong from death and sent her on her way with wishes of well-being and a hope that her Clan would make it to the mountains and then to the lake without too much more trouble.

"Once again, your gift has saved a life. Thank you, Jayfeather," Spottedleaf said before touching her nose to his and Jayfeather slowly disappeared.

The medicine cat awoke, once again in the stone hollow surrounding the Moonpool. He got up, sightless once more, and stretched. His nose and the lack of warmth on his fur let him know that it was still night-time, Jayfeather decided to gather extra herbs and restock his dried supply of comfrey.

What he did not expect, however, was to literally run into his _'father'_, Crowfeather.

One minute Jayfeather was peacefully making his way back down the mountain trail, carefully as to avoid tripping over the rocks, the next he was walking into a slightly damp, and clearly WindClan, cat.

"Bah!" the cat yowled disgruntledly. "Watch where you're—Jayfeather? What are you doing here?"

"I think the right question, Crowfeather, would be what are _you_ doing here? This is, after all, ThunderClan territory," Jayfeather stated pointedly, and a tad smugly.

"Ah, well yes, about that… See, Kestrelwing had a dream last night and," the older tom suddenly broke off and Jayfeather could sense that he was growing slightly suspicious. "And I'm not supposed to tell any cat what it was about, except for Firestar."

"Well, I can't allow you to see Firestar unless you tell me what the dream was about," the medicine cat said, obviously bluffing, considering he was blind and half the size of the WindClan warrior.

"And how will you stop me?" Crowfeather predictably asked him. The sneer on his face was made obvious to the small grey tom by the tone Crowfeather used.

"It's not him who will stop you," a voice Jayfeather clearly recognized as his brother said. The surprise and frustration was now coming off of their father in vicious waves. Crowfeather knew he was no match for Lionblaze, just as he knew he had to deliver his message to Firestar. A heavy sigh could be heard and Jayfeather turned his attention back to the almost black cat in front of him.

"Alright. Last night, Kestrelwing had a dream. In that dream, StarClan told him that WindClan had to help ThunderClan find the right home for SkyClan and that we had to help you with keeping a stock of prey and herbs ready for them. Onestar has agreed that it would be best if our Clan helped. Now you see why I must speak with Firestar?" Jayfeather felt that the tom before him was being truthful, and therefore answered before his littermate could accuse him of lying.

"Very well. Follow me back to camp, and Lionblaze will bring up the rear," the medicine cat stated authoritatively.

The journey back to the stone hollow would have been silent, had Jayfeather not stopped on more than one occasion to pick up herbs.

The first time, Crowfeather merely huffed and muttered something under his breath, annoyance at the small medicine cat clear in the tone of his hushed voice. The second time, Crowfeather had asked, "Is this really necessary?" only to be ignored by the ThunderClan cats. By the third time, the WindClan warrior was far from happy.

"Jayfeather. I understand you're a medicine cat, but do you really have to stop every five seconds to look at some herbs?" he snapped.

"Yes I do, seeing as _you_ interrupted what I was doing earlier," Jayfeather retorted, gathering the comfrey he had just found and bundling it the dock leaves he had collected earlier. He picked up his bundle and started walking again.

By the time they arrived at the camp, finally, it was nearing sunhigh. The nervous and anxious energy radiating out of the ThunderClan camp was nearly strong enough to be smelt on the light breeze. _Something_ important was happening.

"—here Blackstar?" the medicine cat heard Brambleclaw ask as they were entering the stone clearing.

"I think he's here for the same reasons as I," Crowfeather said from behind Jayfeather.

The small grey tom could hear his Clan deputy spinning around to face the newcomers, and he could sense his surprise at seeing the WindClan cat.

"And what reason would that be?" the large tabby tom asked coolly. Crowfeather quickly explained why he was there, a touch of fear in his voice. Slowly, waves of surprise started emanating from ShadowClan's leader. Jayfeather was sure Blackstar's expression would be almost comical, except for the tense atmosphere within the clearing.

At the end of Crowfeather's almost fearful rant, Blackstar exclaimed, "But that's why _I _came! Why would StarClan send two clans to help?"

"I believe I know the answer," a new voice said. Gasps could be heard throughout the ranks of watching ThunderClan cats when they realised who the newcomer was.

"I think StarClan wants all the Clans to come together in building the camp for SkyClan. I think they want us to be a united front before the battle even begins," Reedwhisker said calmly. "Besides, it is unwise for ThunderClan to spend so much of their warriors' time on so much extra hunting and building of new dens. This is what StarClan has intended."

Murmurs of, "That makes!" and, "Reedwhisker is right!" were heard through all of ThunderClan.

"Very well, you three shall convene with Firestar. Once the tasks have been assigned, work will start on the new camp straight away," Brambleclaw said loudly. The three cats from the other Clans walked up to Firestar's den, whispering together on their way.

Jayfeather padded away to his den to sort the newly gathered herbs, whisking his tail at Lionblaze to follow him.

~#~#~#~

"May all cats able to catch their own prey gather around the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Firestar's cry rang out all through the clearing, waking Jayfeather from his nap.

He walked into the clearing, pushing through the other cats to the base of the rock pile that led up to the ledge. He could still smell the other three cats, and he guessed they were on top of the ledge with his Clan leader.

"The tasks for the upcoming moon have been decided. RiverClan will be in charge of gathering herbs for the coming Clan and Tribe, since their territory is most plentiful. WindClan will be in charge of hunting, since the rabbits are running in swarms this Greenleaf. They will also have access to areas of ThunderClan and RiverClan territory to ensure they gather enough prey. ShadowClan will be in charge of gathering enough twigs, sticks and bramble to build dens, as well as enough moss and feathers to make a few nests. ThunderClan will find the best location for SkyClan's new camp. Once the location has been found and the materials gathered, ShadowClan and ThunderClan will build the dens and nests, both the ones in our camp for the Tribe and in SkyClan's camp. Now, Cloudtail, Sorreltail and Brackenfur, follow Sandstorm and begin the search for a suitable location to build a camp. The rest of you, continue with your usual duties," Firestar said before jumping down and walking over to where Brambleclaw stood, no doubt talking with the Clan's deputy about how they would sort out the duties in the upcoming moon.

Jayfeather was pleased, everything was coming along nicely. Pretty soon, the camp would be ready for the Tribe, SkyClan would have a nice, new home and the Clans already by the lake would all be united like they were on the Great Journey. All they had to do now was wait.

And when the time came, they would be ready to take on the Dark Forest.

**A/N: Not the best ending... Or the best chapte, but the things in here needed to be said and needed to be done. By the time we see the Clans again, in about 2 chapters I think, everything that needs getting ready will be done, so better I say how it's going to happen then answer fifty questions about it later, no? :P **

**Oh, and any one of you who has read the Percy Jackson series, you should go check out my story for it. ;) Ahaha gotta love self-advertising :P On that note, you should all check out my fictionpress(.com) (remove the brackets) account under the same name as this one. :3 **

**Anyways, next chapter it's back to Echosong and the Tribe. They will finally be leaving the cave behind the waterfall.**

**Thank you for reading, please review! :)**

**See y'all next time**

**Jay~**


	13. A Difficult Journey

**A/N: Hello guys! Here is the next chapter! Yay! It didn't take months and months this time! :3 Anywho, I'm thinking this will probably have just over 15 chapters in all. I think maybe 16, 17 with the epilogue. (LOL I almost called the epilogue the prologue xD) **

**I am hoping to have the next chapter out about this time next week, though it could end up being the 6****th**** or 7****th**** instead of the 5****th****. And if I feel in the mood and I don't have too many chores this weekend, it could be as early as Monday. No promises on any aforementioned dates though. Sorry, but I have very unpredictable teachers and an extremely unpredictable schedule. **

**THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE REVIEWED! I can't tell you how much those reviews mean to me. :) **

**Disclaimer: I was this close *holds two fingers 2mm apart from each other* to owning the Warriors series, but Jayfeather threatened to beat me with his stick, so therefore I do NOT own the series. Or the characters. **

**Edit: Just doing the same old thing here. And thanks so much for those reviews! :'D**

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_A Difficult Voyage_

Echosong shook off the remaining feelings of fear and dread from her latest vision and headed back towards the tumbling sheet of water that hid the Tribe's cave from their enemies' vision. As she was nearing the entrance, she came across the large slashes she had carved into the ground and instantly, it all came back to her.

She had left the cave earlier that day, deciding to look for herbs as a way to repay Stoneteller for all he had done for her and for her Clan. She had found the dock and marked the area with three deep slashes, hoping that either herself or another cat would notice them and then notice the dock leaves and bring them back to Stoneteller while she was out looking for more herbs further away from the cave.

Echosong instantly felt a rush of guilt; she had completely forgotten to gather more herbs for the Tribe's Healer and leader. Sighing, she looked up at the sky, only to find that the sun was already sinking in the sky. She didn't have enough time to find more herbs.

Dejected, Echosong padded over to the dock, and gently pulled it out of the ground. She carefully nipped the ends with the roots off and delicately picked the dock up between her teeth.

When she entered the cave, she was so surprised by what she saw that she nearly dropped the leaves of the precious herb on the floor. The entire Tribe, along with all of SkyClan were gathered in the main cave, looking up at a rock. On the rock stood Stoneteller and Leafstar. The latter gave the pretty medicine cat a nod when she walked in the entrance.

"Cats of both Tribe and Clan, gather around. Earlier this day, I had a dream from the Tribe of Endless Hunting," Stoneteller started saying, only pausing when Leafstar opened her mouth to cut in.

"And I, a dream from StarClan," she said, then nodded to the tom to continue.

"The dreams gave the same message—it is time we leave our mountain home and journey to the home of the Clans," he told the cats gathered below him almost solemnly. It was obvious that he was nervous about leaving his home, only to fight a battle in a territory he didn't know and might never leave.

"Friends, old and new, do not worry. The journey before us is a dangerous one, especially for young kits and elders, but if we work together and become a united front, we _will_ make it there, and then we will combine our strengths with those of the Clans to defeat the Dark Forest once and for all," a new voice said, and Echosong nearly jumped out of her fur when she realised it was _her_ who had said it. But it hadn't been her voice; not exactly. There had been something different about it; it was too confident and strong to be her own. With a start, she realised the voice was that of Bluestar, the she-cat who had drowned while saving Firestar from a pack of vicious rogue dogs.

"Yes, Echosong is right," Leafstar quickly said. "No matter how long or how hard the voyage may be, we will make it and we will join with the Clans."

"Echosong, will you help Stoneteller in preparing traveling herbs?" her leader finished and Echosong nodded.

As it turned out, it was a good thing Echosong had only brought back a few dock leaves; Stoneteller had an overflowing supply of herbs, most of which would be rotten by the time the Tribe managed to return to the mountains.

Together, the two cats quickly prepared bundles of traveling herbs for each cat, then they packed up some of the other herbs that could be useful on the journey, such as marigold, dock, burdock root and cobwebs.

By the time they were ready to leave, it was just nearing moonhigh, so Stoneteller told every cat to eat and rest. They would depart at dawn.

Echosong shared a rather large mouse with Sharpclaw before falling asleep.

At first, her sleep was dreamless, visionless. And then, suddenly, Echosong was standing in a stone hollow with hundreds of cats, not one she recognized, all surrounding a moonlit pool in the center of the hollow.

The cats parted and allowed for the passage of five cats. She knew three of them, the tom was Rock, and two of the she-cats were Spottedleaf and Feathertail, but she didn't have a clue who the last two were.

One of them, a blue-grey coloured she-cat with powerful shoulders and long legs stepped forward.

"Greetings Echosong, I am Bluestar, the leader of ThunderClan before Firestar," she said and Echosong had to stifle a gasp. The cat in front of her was the cat that had saved Firestar from the dogs.

"You—you're the she-cats' whose deaths I relived!" she exclaimed eyes wide. The dark grey she-cat beside Bluestar shook her and stepped forward.

"The rest of them are, but not I. My name is Yellowfang, and I was the mentor of the she-cat who gave her life defending a new mother and her kits. Unfortunately, you won't get the chance to meet Cinderpelt, since she has been reborn," the grey she-cat with a squished face said. Echosong nodded in understanding.

Spottedleaf stepped forward and said, "I am Spottedleaf, mine was the first death you had to live through. Feathertail's," she said, pointing with her tail to the silvery-grey she-cat, "was the second. The third was Bluestar's death, and the last was Cinderpelt's. We are so proud of you, Echosong. And, we will always be by your side. In a moment of need, just think of us and we will be there to help."

"Thank you," the medicine cat said sincerely. "But what of Cinderpelt? If she has been reborn, how will she be able to help?"

"That is why I am here," Yellowfang said. "I will be taking her place while her soul lives anew in the living world."

Bluestar turned to Echosong once again and said, "But before you wake, that is not all we must tell you. The journey ahead is not a long one, yet it is perilous all the same. It is vital that the Clan and the Tribe are out of the mountains before the sun sinks, else they will be attacked by wolves. Further along, two dangerous kittypets will wreak havoc on any cat who strays from the group. You must move quickly on your journey, but you also must all stay together. You have been warned."

And with Bluestar's words, Echosong's body began to fade until she was awaking in the main cavern of the Tribe once more, her Clanmates around her.

Some cats were still fast asleep, while most were shaking themselves awake, anxious, or in the case of the apprentices and to-be's, exited to leave on the final stage of their journey.

Dawn was quickly approaching, and soon enough every cat, from the frailest elder to the youngest kit, was wide awake and ready to leave the cave. For the cats of SkyClan, most were happy to leave the thin air and heights of the mountain. But for the Tribe, Echosong could see they were having difficulties saying good-bye to the home they had spent their entire lives in.

"Friends, we must depart. If we don't leave now, departing the mountains will be even harder. It is time to say farewell to the caves and leave to find new friends by the lake," Echosong said, strongly influenced by both the voices of Bluestar and Feathertail. Cats all throughout the main cave nodded their heads in agreement and murmured good byes could be heard all around.

Finally, the Tribe and SkyClan left the caves, Stoneteller and Stormfur leading the way, Leafstar and Billystorm close behind. Echosong saw Sharpclaw and some SkyClan warriors, as well as Brook and some cave-guards were lining the outsides of the large group of traveling cats, acting as guards against any threats.

Slowly and inconspicuously, she moved towards the back of the group. This way, Echosong would be both able to keep a close eye on the sun in the sky and be the first to find if anything was following the group.

~#~#~#~

The day wore on for what seemed like forever, but thankfully, nothing attacked. Unfortunately, that also meant that everyone had grown far too confident, which resulted in Stoneteller and Stormfur slowing the pace.

By the time the sun started to fall, the cats were only nearing three quarters of the way down the slope and out of the mountains.

Echosong knew from the warnings she'd received earlier that this was _not_ a good thing. Her thoughts were confirmed a few moments later when a chilling howl rippled through the air.

"What was that?" a frightened Cherrytail asked.

"That was the howl of a wolf," Brook answered, alarm clear in her voice. "Please, Cherrytail, go tell Stormfur that we must move faster. It is not safe to be in the open at night when the wolves are out."

Echosong shuddered at the thought of being caught by the wolves. Sure, between the Clan and the Tribe they had many cats that were able to fight, but from what Bluestar and Feathertail knew about wolves, it seemed that they liked to travel in packs. And Echosong knew first hand just how hard it was to fight a pack of wild dogs, wolves could only be worse. Especially if they were hungry.

She almost sighed in relief when the cats in front of her started moving faster.

Until she realised how much noise they were now making.

"Brook! Brook!" Echosong hissed in a whisper.

"Yes?" the Tribe prey-hunter whispered back.

"We must move more quietly. The noise will attract the wolves," the medicine cat said. Brook's eyes widened.

"I forgot about the noise… But the only way to be quieter is to slow down, and we can't risk that," Brook replied, worry clouding her eyes.

"You're right," Echosong said dejectedly. Then an idea struck her. "Brook, don't follow me. Don't tell any cat what I am doing. I will create a distraction and meet up with the rest of you at the bottom of the mountains."

"But how will you find us?"

"Leave some marks in the ground or on trees, far enough apart that they don't seem to be a trail, but close enough that I can find the next," Echosong answered as Brook nodded.

The SkyClan medicine cat turned away from her Clan—her friends, her family—filled with the courage and bravery of the four who were a part of her and didn't look back.

No one, not even a pack of hungry wolves, would set their paws on those she cared for. No one.

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**A/N: Well, that ended a few hundred words earlier than what I'd planned… Oh well, I guess the rest of this will be posted in the next chapter. :3 **

**Thank you guys for reading. And please REVIEW! Free blue chocolate-chip cookies to anyone who does! And an extra cookie and/or review to anyone who gets that reference! :3 **

**Haha :3 Sometimes I think to myself, **_**"I am awesome," **_**and then I think, **_**"Yes, yes I am."**_

**~Jayfire**


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